The Jesus Trend

We are seeing Jesus lovers popping up all over the internet,

I just can’t help but notice,

And please don’t get me wrong I love Jesus too, and I don’t think we should ever be ashamed to tell others about Him.

But I just can’t help but question the truth behind the matter of some,

And I wonder is this a trend or is this for real,

I am all for spreading the good news of Jesus, I’m all for encouragement, I’m all for helping others Find God!

But I just can’t help but think of the sermon on the mount, the words from Jesus himself, for 3 chapters of the Book of Matthew we have the greatest sermon ever preached, please understand one thing as you read the Word,

The chapters in the books were mans adding not Gods, when you read the sermon on the mount don’t pull this verse out and use it the way you want it…

““Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Matthew 7:1 read the entire sermon preached by Jesus….

Understand why it’s there, what it’s purpose was, and the context of the entire message.

This message is for you not for you to throw in someone else’s face, if someone is trying to help you because they see you going down a not so good path, please grab their hand as they are trying to pull you from destruction and thank them….

I would post the whole sermon but instead, I would greatly encourage you to open your Bible and read it for yourself from start to finish starting in Matthew chapter 5. Jesus didn’t stop preaching at the end of chapter 5 and pick up where he left off a day later, he preached continuously from chapter 5 through to chapter 7, It’s an important message!

““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM M E, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

Matthew 7:13-29 NASB

It hurts a little to see the mass amount of people proclaiming Jesus, how much they love Him and The message of grace…backed by such worldly lifestyles!

Its seems more like confusion than a message of truth to me,

Jesus came to save us from this world that we want to participate in while holding on to the Jesus diamond cross around our neck,

he died on that cross for you,

and you get to wear it,

Does that not seem backwards to you!

(I’m not saying that everyone does this but this is just an example)

He told us to carry our crosses not flaunt them

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Luke 14:27 NASB

Go and find out what this means.

And I don’t share this out of hate or judgment but care and concern because the fruits of our life will always speak so much louder than the words that come out of our mouths,

Or in this case, the posts of our social media accounts.

This is an avenue that I try to be cautious of because it is so easy to show the world a different you, it’s easy to be a “Jesus lover” or “saved by grace” On the internet, but who are we at home to our families, friends, spouses, who are we to our co-workers or neighbors, and most importantly who are we to God?

What kind of fruits are you displaying in public, or private, how do you yield to temptations? (self-control)

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Galatians 5:19-26 NKJV

Each one of those fruits should be dissected in our lives, they are hard to master, but not impossible, we have an example and we must follow it everyday especially as we proclaim to be His followers, we must be different from the world.

Let us not be conceited…

Provoking one another…

Envying one another!

Social Media has to be the largest outlet for this kind of behavior, provoking (look at me)and envying (look at them)…

What is your purpose to show Gods glory or yours? trust me I know it’s easy to get caught up in attention…but is it worth your soul or someone you may be affecting as they watch your example.

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. S ee how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

James 3:1-18 NASB

This is hard to share, I’m not trying to exalt myself above anyone else by any means,

Please take this with a sincere love from me and for the truth.

And thank you for taking the time to read, with love,

Beverly

I was in a rut a few years back wondering why things just didn’t feel like they matched, I thought I was doing everything right…this sermon really helped me put things into perspective. Please take the time to listen, I pray it would help you as it did me!

Take courage

I remember the first time I ever called My husband,

We were in high school and I had a major crush, I was so shy, apparently he liked me but he couldn’t tell I liked him (I wonder why)

So anyways we didn’t end up dating then but I always knew I wanted to marry him, and of course we did end up getting married and I’m very blessed to be his wife…

But that call…

He messaged me once on MySpace and gave me his number, and I sat there in my room for about an hour trying to work up the nerve to call him, I needed to do it….

But for me this wasn’t easy at all I didn’t know what to say, what were we gonna talk about? he probably just thinks I’m weird, why would he want to talk to me? he probably doesn’t even like me, I’m gonna ruin it, but I have to call, because I really like him…

How!?

I was so scared…

I wasn’t the type to call up my friends for advise, or ask my mom, or even my sisters, I didn’t want anyone to know I liked him this much and I didn’t know what to do…

This song kind of became my song, because, of all the things that helped me work up the nerve it was this song….

I hope you dance,

I had to replay it about 10 times before I decided to call.

I wasted about an hour in worry, but it happened I talked to the love of my life..

But this is not a post about our love story this is a post about comfort zones, and EXIT-ing them, because we all know that there is so much more behind that door that we fear to open ,about finding strength and courage when you feel like you don’t know how or why or what, this is a study I did a few years back and I hope that maybe you could gain something from it:

Let’s start with courage, What is this word anyways and what does it really even mean?

Courage is the quality of mind that enables a person to face the uncomfortable feelings, difficulty, danger, pain, or maybe even love, without fear…bravery

We can find many bible stories in both the Old and New Testament with stories of acts of courage! Courage was not a lacking quality in our bible hero’s, those who set an example for us to see that when you take your faith and trust in God and mix it with some courage, and remove the fear of man that stops you from action…you have yourself an unstoppable man or woman of God!

Now quite the contrary, you can’t help but relate this to that little place we all hold within us called our comfort zone,

How many of us actually really like it there?

I think if we were all actually honest with ourselves we wouldn’t even call it comfortable, I think we would call it the place where we settle, because we are too afraid of change, and a possible uncomfortable situation that might come when we exit. That exit door labeled: courage.

Now let’s take a look a Jesus and His use of courage in teaching others, and this may actually surprise you…

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2

But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well. Matthew 9:22

And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here. ” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” Mark 10:49

“Take courage”

…the healing stories of Jesus, most of us focus on the fact that these people had such great faith that they were made well by Jesus, but what I notice is what Jesus tells these newly healed people

“take courage”

Now Why do you think take courage is the first thing Jesus told these people who were healed? …I wonder if it was maybe because they were entering a place that was suddenly new to them, a paralytic walking, a sick woman made well, a blind man seeing. Sure, this was a happy time for them but it had to be scary too the person they thought they were had suddenly been changed by their faith yes, their choice, yes, but changed and now that they were a new person, they were about to face new challenges, I’m sure new obstacles and they had a responsibility to take courage, as they entered this new life,

this obviously better new life.

To take courage, not be afraid of the things ahead of them, to move forward with an understanding that Jesus saved me I have a new life and an opportunity now so take courage!

I kind of know what that feels like, being defined a certain way for so many years of your life, I always thought I forever would be a “shy” person. My negative self talk was loud, and I let the fear of what I assumed others might think of me controlled my own voice! Physically I was not sick but mentally there were days that it would eat me up inside.

But what if it doesn’t work, what if people don’t like what I have to say, what if people make fun of me, what if they think I’m weird or don’t like me…those were always my worst fears…

I do believe we all, as humans desire to be approved of, to be accepted, to be liked and loved, and there are very few people who surround us who probably know us for who we really are!

But God knows you…

He actually knows exactly who you are, who you are meant to be, and everything you are capable of becoming.

He sent no better example than His very own son, to lead you through this life, and fulfill every desire of your self and more than I think you or I can fathom. But to get there it, takes courage,

It’s quite scary to open the door that so few will go through, it’s scary to go against the grain, separate your self from what you have known, and or been, or have been surrounded by for your entire life.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Revelation 3:20-21

The path where very few will go has always been narrow because not many are willing to trust and obey, we want to pretend to be “Christian” for the likable benefits of Christianity, but when we become possibly “unlikeable” or things get a little tough, scary, or just maybe out of our comfort zone, we exit that door as quickly as we can, and let me tell you I don’t want to hear these words one day…

“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM M E, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.””

Luke 13:24-30

We fear God the way we want but not the way He would have us to, because the way He would have us to, pushes us beyond our personal safety nets and boundaries, outside of our comfort zones, and humbles us to where we must fully depend on God for Love and support and let me tell you he won’t let go of you there! But it requires courage, because surrounding us we don’t have many that will hold our hands through what we are about to enter. The spiritual battle grounds are rough, we have an attacker the devil who is the biggest liar on the planet, all those comments you tell your self about how you will never be good enough, they don’t come from a good place, pretty much anything he can think to twist he will, which has led this world into such a dark place of pain and sorrow which we have gotten quite good at masking as a society.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH

Ephesians 6:10-14

Now how about taking courage with Truth?

Preparing yourself with truth to step out of your comfort zone, pulling up your comfortable tunic preparing to step into battle, stepping into battle with Gods word, with truth. With every piece of His word. His truth!

What do you think would happen if they went into battle without girding up their loins? They would most likely trip and fall because they were not prepared.

But what if it doesn’t work, what if people don’t like what I have to say, what if people make fun of me, what if they think I’m weird or don’t like me…

well let’s see what what happened to Paul and Timothy

“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

Philippians 1:12-14

Well It looks like people didn’t like what they had to say….Sending them to prison!….oh but what about those that did though?

so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

Philippians 1:14

When we are working for the Lord to better our lives for him, to grow closer to Him, to know Him and to understand His word, and to have a hope of eternal life with Him we must understand that in order to have growth we need to have challenges. Whether we challenge ourselves out of our comfort zone or we are challenged by someone else out of our comfort zone to practice Gods word it is important to take that courage. Not to be scared, but to understand that God will work through you as you face every challenge as long as you follow Him.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

John 16:33

Follow the lead of Jesus who has overcome the world!

“Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”

Psalms 27:14

Be strong and let you heart take courage…. it takes the strength with in us to act courageously, with all of the verses found within the Bible we can find many verses about courage that first say be strong, clearly courage is something that takes strength…

I want to go back to Ephesians 6

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

Ephesians 6:10

The very first verse tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:10-17

He gives us all the tools but the first thing He asks is that we be strong in Him…

Strength Is built up, strength gets stronger through exercise, but first strength takes commitment. To be strong means to first have the strength to start, and then continue.

True strength can only comes from God. So I will conclude with these verses

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.””

Joshua 1:8-9 NASB

What an encouraging verse!

Encourage to infuse courage into our souls!

“Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

2 Corinthians 5:5-10

My friend if you have made it to the end of my long blog post I thank dearly for reading! My goal is to help and I pray that it may help someone somewhere, I’m very thankful for the internet and the ability to share Gods word and my thoughts. If you have read this and don’t own a bible I would love to help, if you have read this and own a bible but not sure where to go from here I would also love to help. Please do let me know… I know from experience, because I still have a difficult time asking for help, which is why this was so important to me because taking courage may also mean to ask for help..Or if you have read this and have been encouraged, I pray that you would continue on, strong and courageous!

Thank you as always,

Beverly

The God of peace shall be with you….

I feel like this is our extended New Years Eve,

So I will just say it

Happy New Year!

Here is to life, and to being real about it all!

We made it back home from our annual trip to Cold Bay, Alaska It’s really a blessing, and I’m so thankful that we have the ability to go to this place every year and do what we do! I hope that everyone has a place that they can go, to take a little break, change pace, think, reflect, and most importantly be in nature, take part in God’s creation, which is really amazing!

Have you ever felt like you just wanted a break to change your pace?

The Holidays are coming up,

And the real new year is coming up as well,

How many of us are actually thinking about our New Years resolutions (maybe, not yet, too early, I know)

We gotta get through those indulgent holidays first, I know!

Your probably wondering where I’m going with these thoughts, well so am I,

When I started this blog I wrote that this was my way of reflection, decompressing my thoughts, so I’m actually just writing what is in my head right now, as I sit on another plane, heading to another place, another break from reality I guess you can call it!

Not because I dislike my reality, I actually really love my life, but this hasn’t always been true for me…I have surely had my struggles, and by no means do I have the perfect life.

But let me share something with you,We all know what Phillipians 4:13 says,

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We read this and we are empowered, aren’t we,

ALL THINGS!

CHRIST,

WHO STRENGTHENS US!

Really amazing to think about isn’t it?

I strongly believe that Christ does strengthen us, and that he can help us overcome SO MUCH!

But in context this actually is talking about lifestyle, and being content no matter what because we have CHRIST, and no matter what, he has got our back, whether we are in the storms of life, or full of joy, whether we are rich or poor, hurting or happy.

Philippians 4:4-14

Rejoice in the Lord always:

Again I will say, rejoice!

Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

Which surpasses all comprehension,

Shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally brethren,

Whatever is true,

Whatever is honorable,

Whatever is right,

Whatever is pure,

Whatever is lovely,

Whatever is of good repute,

If there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise,

Let your mind dwell on these things.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,

Practice these things;

And the God of peace shall be with you.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly,

That now at last you have revived your concern for me;

Indeed you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak from want;

For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity;

In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both having abundance and suffering need.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Nevertheless you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

Philippians 4:4-14

So as I sit here in flight, reflecting, thankful, and rejoicing in the blessings that God has given me, I am also so very thankful for the struggles as well because they have taught me so much, they have helped me grow,

Those reality breaks, they don’t have to wait until the New Year, or the trip, sometimes we just need to stop breathe, and think, what am I doing and why am I hurting, and give in to Gods Guidance, and Christ’s strength.

PAUSE,

You are never too far gone for God to work with you,

Content in all circumstances means that, whether life is going great, or life is difficult you have the Creator on your side wanting to help fix you!

And sometimes it hurts, sometimes it’s hard, but it’s only because he knows how much you deserve, and he wants to give you more! But sometimes we get so stubborn in our ways thinking life can’t get better and we shouldn’t feel content regardless of the circumstances, when it’s good we feel guilty, when it’s hard we feel hopeless, and we feel like we need to have all the answers rather than just trust the process!

So with all that being said,

I get stubborn too,

I think life is something I need to handle all on my own,

I think well I’m already this far in, I can’t stop now, I can’t turn around….

That’s why I say take a break to look at your life, where is the first place you take your computer when it’s broken, well I’m sure if you knew the designer personally you would take it straight to him, but most likely your either gonna read the manual it came with, or your gonna take it to someone who has, and has studied it and knows how to fix it.

We are not computers but we have a designer a Creator, we also have a manual (Gods word, the Bible) and we also have people who have put in the time and effort to read and work on themselves through that manual, and speaking from experience myself, I know it works!

I’m learning to be less stubborn in my ways, and more dependent on God, more trusting of Him, and content in every circumstance, because it is true that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

His work always leaves me so in Awe!!

“Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:8-11‬ ‭KJV‬

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭62:5-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. [ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” ]”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17:20-21‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭8:22-25‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭16:22, 33‬ ‭NASB‬‬

As always if there was ever anything that you could get from taking the time to read my blog my prayer for this always is that you would take the time to desire the Truth in your life, we are are capable of being stronger than we think, which is exactly why Christ came to die for us, I pray you would find a Bible and read it and learn about that! And the love that He has for us!

May God bless you and you be able to find what it means to be content in all circumstances! And what it means to be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens you ❤️

With love,

Beverly

Home.

Homes are built, but they are not just built when you have a special home it is not only built but it builds…when a home is created out of a solid and loving foundation that home continues to build…its always a process…

This is my home,

It’s made of many houses,

People,

A mom and a dad,

Grandpas, and grandmas,

Aunties and uncles,

Sisters and brothers,

Cousins,

An environment,

The sea, the wind, the fish, the berries

The sunsets, and sunrises,

The drives,

This is the place that built me,

A piece of me that rests in my heart,

A piece of my process,

My home is still being built,

As I grow I watch this home change,

Its now a home with a new place,

A few additions,

A home where I am the mother,

Raising her babies,

Creating a new home,

But coming back to mine,

I find that home is never the same place,

It may be for a short period of time,

A place where you find comfort,

But it changes as we grow,

You can go back,

But you can’t go back,

You can share,

But you can’t save,

You can hold,

But you can’t stop,

Home is a place that rests in our hearts,

A comfort that is found in a place called,

Love,

How I wish memories wouldn’t fade,

Things wouldn’t change,

But change is not always bad,

Sometimes change is good,

Change is part of our purpose,

Our purpose is to grow,

Grow and spread,

Spread like the flowers that God gave the earth,

Or the wings that fly through the sky,

Spread that beauty and that love,

Pass it on to those you love,

Especially those sweet little souls,

Those eyes that look up at you,

To find your smile,

The ones that see all of the good,

The ones that fear the bad,

Home is a real place for everyone,

Whether we feel it or not we all have one,

Homes that are physical fade,

But a home built in your heart is always there,

As our surroundings change that home must adapt,

For me there is one constant in my home,

It’s the foundation,

The real comfort that allows me to rest my head at night,

It shelters me,

And tells me everything will be okay,

When life changes,

It doesn’t,

Knowing that,

I can accept change,

I can see beauty,

I can have purpose,

I can have home,

I can find home,

I can feel home,

I can can give home.

Home is where your heart is.

Here we are again!

My favorite time of the year! For the past 9 years we have been so fortunate enough to travel back to my childhood home…first it started with Joe and Me traveling back to show him where I spent my childhood, not realizing we would spend every year after revisiting that place! Appreciating it more and more each year, more so now when I get to see the joy on our children’s face as they get to enjoy some of the wonderful things that have made

My childhood!

Berry picking,

Minnow fishing,

Banyos (aka village steam bath house)

Dirt roads,

The ocean,

The moss,

Being wild and free,

Watching bears,

Taking long drives,

Catching fish,

Playing cards,

Spending time with cousins,

4 wheeler rides,

And so much more!

Honestly growing up I never really realized how blessed I was to be from such a beautiful place! As I raise my kids, and life gets so busy, I think back and really miss the slow paced simple life that I once had I don’t know if that was the child in me or the actual fact that it is a different lifestyle! There are times that I long for my life to just slow down. Which is why each year we take this opportunity to go and just SLOW DOWN! Just be a family and enjoy each others company, and the beautiful environment that surrounds us!

So here you have it Cold Bay, Alaska one of my favorite places to be!

Our 2018 family trip!

Brooklyn just told me mommy I miss Cold Bay, I miss the sunsets and my sunset dance! The first night we got a sunset we drove hoping to make it to watch it go down, from the lovely spot pictured above we didn’t make it in time because it was going down quickly so we stopped on the road to take pictures and Brooklyn was having a blast giggling and dancing and she obviously held tight to that moment! The memories and moments children keep are sometimes the sweetest an simplest moments that don’t go as planned!

The cousin crew…

Subsistence life…

Wild and free…

“There is no land like the land of your childhood.” -Michael Powell

You only get one childhood, there comes a time where life becomes clearer and we become adults, things are just not as simple anymore, not as pure and perfect as they once seemed, but then along comes children of your own, and you begin to revisit that childhood, whether it is in, the foods you ate, the movies you watched, the games you played, the people you loved, the things you did, or the places you had been.

All of a sudden those children help you again to see the purity in the world, if you stop just a second to see the world through their eyes, you may get a glimpse of your childhood again, it doesn’t last long but those moments are every bit worth every second, and to know that you are sharing what once brought you so much joy with your own children, is a whole new joy within itself, and life is a beautiful thing!

And here is some more fishing, family, and fun!

And that’s a wrap to our 2018 Cold Bay getaway!

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them. The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the LORD, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. Bless the LORD, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:1-22‬ ‭

Where is your Peace?

 

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Guided imagery brings you to a place of peace.

Usually when asked to close your eyes and go to a place that is calm and peaceful, 

We think of mountains, beaches, meadows, rivers, forests

the sounds are those of waves crashing, or birds chirping, wind blowing, rain pouring

Where is your place of peace?

And why is it, that this place usually involves nature,

I honestly don’t know, maybe yours doesn’t involve nature 

But when I think of complete peace within myself I’m near the ocean,

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A warm breeze, and the sun setting

I love sunsets,

I could watch them all day!

if only…

Why do we get these glimpses of beauty? Why can’t we just stay there forever?

What’s so beautiful about the sun setting?

to me it is that I can actually look at the sun without being blinded by its brightness 

the colors of the sky amaze me and the reflection of light seen upon the water shows just how powerful God really is.

To think that this earth just accidentally happened, to me is hopeless

What’s the point of the beauty if this is all just an accident

What the point of joy, if we don’t have love 

What’s the point of life when we don’t have a God, 

What is our purpose if it is not for Christ 

(Now hold on…)

A long time ago God created the world,

Whether you believe it or not, it doesn’t change a fact! 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. Genesis 1:1 

The world was a perfect place of absolute peace, not a worry, not a sorrow, not a burden, not a tear.

God made animals, and he made a man, this man was different from the animals because God breathed His own breath into him…

His soul into man! ( how blessed are we) 

That soul was uncorrupted knowing no evil, man was given a helper, a woman (taken from and for the man, but also given a soul of her own)

Together they were given a perfect home to enjoy and be completely taken care of! 

God, because of His love gave them a free will (yes, you have choice in this life) 

In this perfect garden there was a tree…a tree to understand, 

Understand something different from what they knew,

Knowledge of good and evil,

With that tree of knowledge came another thing that was death 

The perfect home and everlasting life would be severed through disobedience,

Death! 

A tempter came told the woman you won’t die you will just be like God, don’t you want that..to know good and evil…the thing is they already knew good, but it couldn’t have been considered good without the counterpart evil. Good without evil is perfect! 

(What did God say when he created it all, “it is good”,perfect. Genesis 1:31  God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.)

Back to the fruit of that tree of knowledge of good and evil…

Eve took it 

She didn’t die instantly

What!!??

she passed it on to Adam,

Everything changed! 

Here comes the knowledge…

They instantly understood what evil was…

disobedience to their Creator, 

They were ashamed, and instantly wanted to hide away! Naked, vulnerable, and now they understood the one thing that God wanted to keep them pure from! 

Evil! 

But a God so loving knew this would happen 

He had a plan of redemption, 

The Tree of Life…

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in order to live they must now take from that…you see all along it wasn’t about forcing anything for God, God is Love and all He wants is children that love Him, not because they are  forced to, but because they want to love Him! The peace, the beauty, the wonders, the love, they all come from God!

And He gave us an opportunity to do that, His word is a gift, a gift of life, and manual on how to live it to the fullest, it’s a powerful message of His love, we don’t want to read it because that just seems so unfair that God would just create us, put us in this world, and then make us read a book on how to live in it…

(so unfair right) 

I think not…

But honestly the whole thought of reading the Bible used to burden me, but what I have actually realized is that it is not His Word that is a burden, but the world and the lies within it, they damage us! 

They take us away from those places of peace, calmness, and love.  So far away that we need to deliberately close our eyes and think deep to find that happy place again! 

God knows our burdens, He gave us this gift inside the gift, that is Christ! 

A perfect example, to come to earth and show us how to cast every burden aside, He did something that none before Him could ever do and that is die for our sins! 

We killed him, in anger, in jealously, in lies, In deceit, in selfishness! But still He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34

The walk of a perfect life, to a cross of  crucifixion, an absolute selfless act to pay a price for heaven to give to us, for everyone who cares to understand, everyone who cares to say Glory to God in the highest, I love Him because He first love me!  

Everyone Who understands the necessity of the death that Christ faced for us, and the necessity of the need to clothe ourselves in that death, burial, and resurrection.

The death defeated sin, but only defeated sin for those that would remove it through His holy cleansing power! 

Rest is found through His love,

Fear of death, defeated! 

Comfort is a promise! For now and forever through Christ, but only for those willing to receive that comfort! It’s not a simple as speaking, it’s not as simple as a thought! Death came when disobedience happened in the Garden of Eden, 

Life comes through obedience, to the Tree of life.

Taking from that Tree of life, to live in the comfort and peace in the Kingdom of Heaven! 

Close your eyes, and imagine a place

Where you are completely at peace,

Find yourself in that happy place 

Tell me, what part of that exercise involves  chaos, clutter, fear, darkness. 

We do that to ourselves, while our hearts LONG for that peace, 

God wants us to trust His journey for us, (not my will, but His) 

It hurts sometimes as we walk this journey with Him because there are so many things that we have only ever known, that have been weighing us down, 

God wants to help us remove them to find that peace, 

that removal can be painful,

That place of comfort, will one day be our never-ending home! 

Time was created by God who doesn’t exist within that matter of time, that’s hard to take in, but the beginning and the end are something created by Him to teach us that this world is not the home we should strive for because it doesn’t last forever, 

Peace with Him though, 

That can start now, 

And that never needs to end, 

Obedience, 

Removal of selfish motives, 

Putting on love, 

Again God who created us didn’t create us to force us into anything,

We all have a choice,

The lie that tells you that, He is unjust, unloving, and fake,

Or even the lie that tells YOU that you are unworthy to be saved! 

Is the same lie that started the fall of man, 

“Surely you will not die,” said the serpent! 

“You will be just like God” said the serpent! 

As hard as we may try, we could Never compete with God,

Call yourself a “lucky accident” that came about from a mashing of rocks billions of years ago! 

Or call yourself a child of a Creator that loves you and will give you every opportunity to turn to Him, 

Who knows how to free you from the chaos, fears, and darkness. 

He doesn’t promise it to be easy, 

But promises freedom, peace,

Comfort, and love! 

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:8-9 

What is your promise?

What is you image of peace? 

What is your life? 

What is your purpose? 

Where is your peace?

As my title emphasizes my love for the truth, if you have any questions about my post, I would first recommend reading the Word for yourself, here are the listed scripture references, any further questions please let me know! 

Creation and fall of man 

Genesis 1-3 

The righteous and wicked contrasted 

Psalms 1 

Proverbs 14

The works and the Word of God 

Psalms 19 

What is the Tree of life?

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.” Proverbs 11:30 

Revelations 22 

About Jesus and his care:

John- chapters 14-16 (read this without the chapter breaks, it breathtaking, beautiful, and comforting.   The chapter breaks in the Bible are man-made not necessarily meant for stopping points sometimes we miss great passages from stopping too soon.) 

And why did Jesus Die? 

Collisions 2 and 3 

The whole Word of God is full of this love, and knowledge! The Bible is truly and treasure given for our benefit, not for our burden! My prayer is that you would read it filterless, with the ability to break down the barriers placed upon your hearts! The promise is truly fulfilling! May God bless you always! 

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What do you want to be when you grow up Mom?

My kids asked me this question recently…

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Grown up…hmmmm? That sounds like fun? 😉

I guess I have always known exactly what I have wanted to be when I grew up…
now here I am a grown up (I think)…

It was a mom…
I wanted to be a mom..

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I wanted to be a mom so I could be needed,
I have always had a passion for caring…
Especially when it came to children, I wanted little hearts who would cry for me!
And I could pick them up and comfort them…
Little did I know that desire was fulfilling a need of my own
I quickly realized that being a mom wasn’t as pretty as it looked it was much more challenging,
Being needed wasn’t actually about being needed but needing,
Needing help, needing love, needing patience, needing faith, needing trust…
Having children taught me how to be a child, a child of God,
We are all children of God his desire has always been to be our comforter, to pick us up when we fall, to hear us when we cry, to teach us, nurture us, feed us, and love us.
But We must have the humility to need him.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:1-6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

As parents I think something we could all relate to is the protective nature we each have for our children, you would say the same thing if someone were to mess up your child’s life wouldn’t you?

Children truly are a gift, even if you don’t have children of your own I think you could still appreciate the beauty they bring into this world,
Their unfiltered, innocent,and pure nature.
I will work as hard as I can to protect their innocence as long as I can, teaching them kindness and love!

“Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭127:3‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:25-30‬ ‭NASB‬‬

This scripture inspires more than you know,
I strive to be this woman,
My children bless me beyond measure,
God is so good!

My children;

I love each one of them so deeply and dearly as I observe them each day protecting their souls and keeping them, and teaching them of Gods love is my top priority. I couldn’t imagine life without being their mother.

Tiernan

First I was your Auntie Over the moon in love with you, such a sweet little boy, I wanted to spend time with you all the time, you didn’t know at the time but you were teaching Mom and Dad how to love, not only others but each other.  God sent you into the belly of a mommy that watched out for you, loved you so much that she made one of the hardest choices she ever had to make, and putting her trust in me and Dad to raise you the best we could! And now we get to share you again with her and it fills my heart more than you could ever know. She is near and dear to my heart she also taught me how to Love, God works through moments in our life that challenge us in ways that sometimes we don’t want to go, or they hurt to see, but he teaches us to lean on him and when we do he helps us grow into people with greater joy than we ever knew we could exist with and a faith that can move mountains. Being a mom to you has really, really, REALLY  helped me grow and I am not putting that lightly, you taught me how to give up myself for another person. Through the joy and love that you shared with me, you stamped my heart so deep that I became willing to step into places that scared me so bad, but I knew there was a little boy there that needed me and I needed him! So I did it over and over for you and will continue to do it over and over, my heart hurts because I sometimes feel like I’m not good enough for you but you teach me too about grace, forgiveness, and love, you may not have grown in my belly but you did grow in my heart, and not just mine but many other Peoples too! You have such a big heart and it’s so loyal to the ones that love it in return!! Keep growing for the Lord, you have a wisdom inside of you that can teach multitudes one day!! I love you dearly!

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Brooklyn

Mommy and daddy prayed for a beautiful little girl and God gave us the most beautiful little girl that shines from the inside out! Watching you everyday love with so
Much grace and forgiveness, there are times I feel that I don’t even love to the measures you do!

If anyone does you wrong before they even get to the chance to say I’m sorry you have already said that’s okay it was an accident I forgive you!! You observe love the most out of everything I do, and believe me I have my faults you could observe…watching me mother and mimicking it to T with your dolls and sister! Always Cherishing your bible and God with so much faith, hope, and purity!! Your prayers consisting of things like Help us be loving and kindness, and forgiveness and thank you for loving us and thank you for God. My little Brooklyn we sure prayed for you hard and God just proved to us that he blesses and answers prayers in the most beautiful ways!

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Norah

Mama sure has learned a lot from you and I know your going to teach me many more lessons! You to have a heart bigger I think sometimes than you know how to handle at the age of 2 so it comes out that way! Your emotions are strong and so are you but when you love you give it all! Your hugs seep through the body into the soul they are so powerful, and your laugh and joy you share, also rubs off onto others similar to the way when you fall asleep and you are finding comfort, you find it by trying to comfort someone else, your little hand searches for skin to caress and gently rubs so lovingly whoever is nearest to you! I pray that you continue to help me practice grace, your little soul is the sweetest and I know your trying to figure it out. When we pray you try really hard to remember the things we pray for and you repeat them as you listen, you are an observer too and I sure do love you too! God knows the desires of our hearts and when we found out you were a baby girl mama cried because I knew you and your sister were going to lean on each other and help each other grow just like I did with the sisters God gave me! ❤️❤️

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I think about this job that God has given me, to be.

Their mom

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this gift,
A blessing beyond measure…

And then I think, ultimately they are not mine but HIS, I know them but I can never know them to the depths that God does,
What I wouldn’t give to know how to comfort them at every moment, but I know someone who does,

and that’s my real job,

it is  to teach these precious souls to know God, love him, and call on him when they need help because, he too wants to pick you up and give you a big warm loving hug when you cry, and mine couldn’t even come close to HIS!

I love my children and I love my Dear Heavenly Father!

Our children learn by the examples that we set, what better example than to be a Child of God, to become the Best Mom I could be.

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LOVE

Often we think about love and it seems that we all have a different definition for what it actually is! Some people may not even know how to define it! Love is complicated a lot of people like to say…and yes actually it can be!

Honestly if you want to know what sparked me to do a bible study on love I will tell you that I personally struggled with it and so I wanted to challenge myself. I’m sure we all could say we struggle with it in one way or another because after all love is complicated, or at least it can be. I often find myself questioning the love that I give to people and the guilt I feel when I don’t feel love, what’s wrong with me I think, why can’t I feel this love that I’m supposed to feel. This “brotherly” or “sisterly” love that we are supposed to have for one another in the church, the love that we are to have for our children, the love for our families or maybe even the love for our spouses or God.

Do you ever question yourself on those things why can’t I feel love, or am I doing this right?

Let me start with some research that I did on love which may help you all understand the complication of it! There are 4 different Greek words for love.
eros, storge, phileo, and agape.

Let that sink in for just one moment 4 words in Greek that define one word in English!

LOVE

No wonder it’s complicated!

I will start with the Greek word Eros this word is not actually used in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek, but I think it is important to understand this word and its meaning because in the world we live in today a lot of people may fall trap to this idea and think it is LOVE.

In English the Greek word Eros translates erotic, it is a “love” or passion, that can overwhelm our mind creating a strong desire for something. This idea may often get confused by LUST which is also a strong desire or passionate longing for something usually forbidden, coming from the Greek word epithumia (lust).

Eros mainly seeks after its own self, or if it gives it gives in order to receive. It can be very short and temporal, as well as conditional. The philosophy of Eros is that being loved depends on being attractive in some way to another person . The basic idea of this love is self satisfaction and if it fails to get what it wants or expects bitterness or resentment can develop. Now as I read about this. It doesn’t sound like the kind of love that God wants for us or from us!
Where you would see this love being used (that is the passion and desire) is obviously in relationships and I think it is safe to say the only proper relationship this should be in is in a marriage and a marriage between a man and woman.
God does allow husband and wife’s the gift of this type of love as we see in

Hebrews 13:4 KJV

Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled : but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

 
God understands that we were given a desire for this naturally,

1 Corinthians 7:4-5 NASB

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

So I think we can definitely see the idea, and how we may use our desire for this properly. With the world that we live in today driven by selfish desires I think a lot of people believe that this is LOVE,  but think it’s safe to say that a marriage relationship built on this type of love set as a foundation will eventually develop problems.

So Moving on, the next Greek word for love is storge. This is a natural love that you have! The love of family, parent/child, brother, sister or any relatives that you may feel a strong bond between because you know that naturally you are connected through blood or maybe even just through the family name. It is a quiet, abiding feeling within a person that rests on something close to them that they feel good about. When we see this word in the New Testament it is not written as love but it is used in a negative context as, “without natural affection”.

See following verses:

2 Timothy 3:2-7 KJV

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection (STORGE) , trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

And…
Romans 1:28-32 KJV
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection (STORGE), implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

other versions of the bible, use the terms unloving (NASB), or no love (NIV)

BUT…
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We can think positivly of this natural affection that we have or are asked of to have, when we think of the the idea of “brotherly love” philadelphia which is a love that we as christians are asked to have for on another.

Naturally we understand that as humans, we come with this sort of “love”

an unconditional love, and it is probably one of the hardest loves to break or separate yourself from and because of that I think that this love can also hinder our relationship with God as well, if we are not careful. And what I mean by that is

 

Matthew 10:34-39
Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN ‘ S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

To understand this thought better, we need to understand that this verse is not telling us that we should not love our family, but what it is saying is that sometimes the love that we have for our family is so strong that we will make exceptions for things that are contradictory to the Word of God (TRUTH) in order to please our family because we love them so much. We are afraid we might lose them so instead we choose to disobey the will of God. We all grew up with certain traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles, some good and some bad, and as we continue to walk through life we witnesss our loved ones making choices that are sometimes hard to see and accept, the question is do we need to accept those choices? The answer is what does the Bible tell you, we are to love God and follow his will. The rest will fall into place when his plan is fulfilled!
You are not in control of what others around you choose to do especially those you love and that is a hard thing to realize, but also your actions if bad may hurt others who don’t understand, and if good may help! God has a plan though our lives, he knows far more than we can comprehend at one point, sometimes when we look at the world we live in we are quick to get discouraged by circumstances that are out of our control, they hurt us! Christ gives us a comfort through all of that, but the comfort only comes when we choose to surrender ourselves to the will of GOD, and understanding that many people may disagree with that!

Moving on we come to the word Phileo …phileo is a love mentioned in the New Testament. Phileo is a love that you feel. It speaks of affection, fondness or liking. It is more of a strong liking for something, or someone, rather than true love, when you have a strong emotional connection to a person, place, or even thing. This is what causes us to care for each other. When you feel cared for by another person a lot of the time, you will phileo care for or “love them” back. The problem with this love is that when it is greatly strained it can collapse in crisis. But it is important to have this love for one another because naturally we are emotional people, and our feelings do cause us to make decisions a lot of the time especially to those who don’t fully understand Gods word, so if we do not feel a phileo love for one another, family, friends, God what are we left with. But at the same time phileo can also hinder us if we have it for the wrong things.
You will see this in

 
Revelations 22:14-15
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves (phileo) and practices lying.”
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John 12:25
“He who loves (phileo) his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”

Understand this is talking about a love for the world with maybe a “you only live once” type of attitude where you just have so much fun and are careless you live life to the fullest in a way that does not coincide with Gods word.

It’s is very important to understand this type of love and difference between what is good and what is bad. Gods word will provide that! Phileo is not a bad love it is very important to show it the Bible also tells us that God loves (phileo) us!

Revelation 3:19

“Those whom I love,(Phileo/care for) I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”
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But more than the love of Phileo, God also agape loves us. Which brings me to the last Greek word for “love”,  And that is agape. Agape is not a feeling. Agape is everything that God is.

1 John 4:8
“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (Agape)

Agape is the noblest word for love in the Greek language. It is a love that is not kindled by merit or worth of its object but it originates in its own God-given nature. It delights in giving. It keeps on loving even when the loved one is unresponsive, unkind, unlovable, and unworthy. It is true unconditional love. It only desires good of the one loved. It is a consuming passion for the well being of others. The word agape is used approximately 320 times in the New Testament (important you would think)

We only know agape because of God! Because of the things that he has done for us.

 

1 John 4:9-10 

“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

And what Christ did for us…

Ephesians 5:1-2

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

So how do we conclude this. We must take action, understand the loves that we feel that may confuse or skew our thinking. We are now aware of Eros, storge, Phileo, and agape.

We are commanded to show others agape as well as to care for each other with brotherly love.

2 Peter 1:5-7

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”

So if you have faith and believe in God the next step is the morals that the faith provides where do you find those morals? Through knowledge (found in the word of God) …once you gain knowledge…you need self control (the I’m not gonna do this because it is bad for me self control) maybe once or twice or whenever we feel like we want to practice self control? No! Through perseverance (that is continually, all the time, perseverance that is hard work right) through that perseverance we practice godliness (having a respect for God and therefore following his word, but not just any respect a deep respect, a respect so strong that we begin to exhibit in our own behavior a constant piety towards God, not wanting to follow Gods will but actually doing it because there is a difference) and through the godliness you then will find the brotherly kindness, the care that I have been wondering about the care that you naturally have for your family, to have that for everyone, because of godliness. And from brotherly kindness you will find love.

The love that God wants for each one of us! The love that God has for us! The true agape love. The love that loves no matter what! The greatest commandment love! The second greatest commandment love!

Matthew 22:37-40

“And He said to him, ” ‘Y OU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR G OD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘Y OU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.””

This love,

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
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It makes such perfect sense to me now! The Bible is perfect, I found this study so eye opening to so many questions! I want to leave you with one more thought because I know this task of love is not always the easiest of things to do is it?

So as I explained our English version of the Bible has the word love which can sometimes be so vague in our English language. But there was a conversation with Jesus and Peter that you will find in

John 21:15-17

“So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (Phileo)You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (Phileo)You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (Phileo)Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love (Phileo) Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love (Phileo)You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

 

So Jesus asked Peter 2 times if he agape loved him and Peter responded yes lord you know that I Phileo love you (care about you) after each time Jesus asked Peter to tend my lambs and shepherd my sheep!

So what happened the third time Jesus asked Peter, well first of all Jesus stopped asking Peter if he agaped him, instead he asked if he Phileo (cared for) him. I don’t know about you but I have questioned people before on this one! Do you really love me because your not showing it so I really don’t feel it! Do you think maybe that is what Jesus was doing in this conversation. Well let’s see what happened to Peter, what was his response. (Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time do you love (Phileo) me) why do you think Peter became grieved,

Peters heart was challenged! Grief of the heart is not bad unless you choose from it to be hardened.. Peter did not become hardened but instead chose to grow from his grief!

Jesus works through us in ways like the way that he challenged Peter, it’s not blunt, but he challenges our hearts, he wants to know that we love him in a way that we will take action, not give up, and work for!

John 10:1-18

“”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.””

Jesus is love, he showed us love we must follow him, God is love he showed us love he sent his son Jesus so that we may know that true agape love. And what are we to but to love.

1 John 4:7-21

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

Im constantly baffled by the mindset of the world we live in wanting to remove God from the picture, telling the world that God is not important, and obeying him is not necessary, His truth was given to us for one simple purpose, because, we are his and he loves us….

but why do we turn away from it like its the plague. Because giving up ourselves is hard, but so rewarding.  Each day that I choose to look to God is when I find the most peace, comfort, and love in a way that cannot simply be explained by the English definition according to google:

Love: noun

  1. an intense feeling of deep affection
  2. a person or thing that one loves

verb

1. feel deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone)

It is much, much more than that, as always I hope you too would desire the Truth! Not for me or anyone else, but for you so that you too may know love, a true agape “LOVE” that gives you so much worth. May God Bless You!