Greatest of These is Love

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness,and self control. Against such things there is no law" Gal. 5:22-23

Eros: Grasping Love
The fruit of the Spirit is:
* the supernatural outcome of being filled with the Spirit
* the living proof that the Spirit of God dwells in us
Gal. 5:22-23 speaks of one kind of fruit with nine different qualities, each of which we will study during next 8 weeks.

God has divinely inspired the first quality of the fruit of the Spirit to be LOVE.
In Greek mythology, eros love was taken from the Greek belief in a "god" of love called by the same name. The word actually means "longing and desire." Eros is a selfish love; it asks "what can I get for myself?"
We can easily understand how eros came to be associated with sexual love. Unless, sexual love is redeemed by the presence of God, it becomes possessive. It seeks to conquer and control. Human sexulity can be a destructive force, but such was never God's intention. He created the physical attraction between a woman and a man. He did not intend selfish eros, but He definitely did create the longing and desire that make up sexual love.

**Physical love or sexual intercourse is to marriage what prayer is to our spiritual life.
**I do not belive healthy marriages exist absent of physical affection.

The grounds for depriving each other are: 1 Cor. 7:3-6
1. mutual consent
2. in time of prayer with one another

Satan is out to destroy the church, which is best accomplished through destroying the family. He is looking for a way to tempt you. If you or your mate are depriving each other, SAtan is not missing the opportunity to ultimately use it against you. You have inadvertantly made your marriage vulnerable to attack. Also, Paul states that by nayure we lack self-control. The enemy of our flesh will attack us if we are not satisfying each other as a husband and wife.

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble." 1Peter 3:8

Philos: Friend Love
God wonderfully illustrates a second kind of love to us in Scripture. This unique kind of love is called philos, and it is a general term usually defined as "the love one has toward a friend or companion." In fact, the word can simply mean "friend."

Luke 14:10
When a person has philos love for another, she places that person in a higher place.

In Luke 21:16 we learn that a friend in some cases can be capable of betrayal. The fear of betrayal should never keep us from cultivating friends.
In Luke 23:8-12 we see that a common pursuit can make some people philos. A very important characteristic of philos is the adoption of like interests. James 2:23 tells us that Abraham was a philosphilos, agape is not a feeling or relationship based on common interests. Agape is propelled by the highest interest. Two individuals can agree on something-As Pilate and Herod did-and both be wrong. Agape always flows from what is right and best.
*Agape is not as much a feeling as it is a response.
We will discover that God commands us to agape. He is not commanding us toward a feeling, He is commanding us to surrender to an act of His Spirit whish results in obd=edience. Emotion may accompany agape, but emotion and agape are not the same.

Agape is not fueled by the desire of its recipient; it is fueled by the need. "For God so [agape] the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not persish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). If God had done what man desired, we would surely be lost. Agape means God did what humanity most needed- He pursued in us that which was highest and best.

Characteristics of Agape:
1.Agape is patient
-Romans 12:17-21
-Proverbs 25:21-22

2.Agape is Kind
-Perhaps poor Martha was just searching for a little kindness from Mary in the kitchen while Mary was seeking a better thing!

3.Agape does NOT ENVY
-Acts 7:9
-One only has to scan a newspaper to find that envy can kill.

4.Agape does NOT BOAST
-1Cor.1:27-29
-The only grounds for boasting, when boasting in the Lord (1Cor. 1:21

5.Agape is NOT PROUD
-Negative consequences resulted from pride in the following scriptures:
2Chron. 26:16
Psalm 10:4
Proverbs 11:2
Daniel 5:20
Obadiah 3
Jeremiah 13:17
-Positive consequence that came from repenting of pride: 2Chron. 32:26

6.Agape is NOT RUDE
-Phil 4:8
-Agape is never obscene. If we participate in the indescent or obscene, we cripple our ability to exercise agape.

7.Agape is NOt SELF-SEEKING
-2Tim. 3:2
-Agape is the highest and best for another. Self-seeking is polar opposite of agape. Had God been seeking His own interest, He would have spared the life of His precious Son, and we would be hopelessly lost.

8.Agape is NOT EASILY ANGERED
-Much of what angers us is a result of how we percieve we are personally affected by a situation.
-Psalm 145:8 tells us about God's anger

9.Agape keeps no record of wrong
-Psalm 103:10-14 tells us God's love toward you
-Hebrew 10:16-18 describes God's ability to forgive and forget
**Praise God, He keeps no record of wrongs!!! Do you?

10.Agape does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth
-Psalm 119:29-32

11.Agape always protects
1Cor. 13:7
-1Peter 4:8

12.Agape always trusts
-The greek word for trust is pisteuo, which basically involves having faith in someone.

13.Agape always hopes
-2Cor. 8:22-24

14.Agape always perseveres
-The greek word for perseveres is hupomeno, which means "to remain under". In common terminology, agape "hangs in there".
-Do you enjoy long-term relationships? How easily are you discouraged in a relationship? Spend time thinking about that.

15.Agape NEVER FAILS
-The greek word for fails is ekpipto, and it means "to be without effect, to be in vain."
-This characteristic, perhaps, more than any other, encourages us toward agape love. Concentrate on this truth: agape never without effect. Agape is never in vain!

And now these three remain:faith,hope,and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1Cor. 13:13

**We may have various ways of expressing agape, but it alaways shows! Love never fails to be demonstrative!

What an amazing week of study! I am truly humbled and filled with joy by God's love for us. My prayer is that we all strive and desire to show one another the love that only come from Him...agape love!!!

much love,
brandy~

To Live by the Spirit

"So I say,live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Gal. 5:16

Three in One:
God is three in one--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are several imperfect analogies which help to explain the triune nature of God. For example, water is made up of three parts (two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen), yet remains one in substance. Water can take on the form of ice, liquid or vapor, yet it's still water. You may be a daughter, a wife, and a mother, yet you're still you. Each of these analogies help us to glimpse God's triune nature in some tiny way,still each of these examples is pitifully limited. The best we can do is recognize that our one God is Father,Son,and Spirit.
The same God who willed, spoke, and energized the universe into being directs all His care and distinctive direction to your precious life. He continues to direct you through these same methods: the Father first wills,the Son speaks the Father's will to you through His Word,and the Holy Spirit supplies the power for you to obey.
Have you been feeling a little insignificant lately? Unimportant? How's this for a change in perspective? The entire Godhead is intimately involved in your daily life using the same power and glory with which He commanded creation into being. He must find you rather significant!

An Eternal Guarantee:
"Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,set His seal of ownership on us,and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Cor. 1:21-22

John 16:7-11 tells us that the Spirit acts as our Counselor.
Titus 3:5 tells us the Spirit saved us.
1Cor. 12:13 says that "we were all babtized by one Spirit."
1Cor. 6:19-20 calls our body the "temple of the Holy Spirit."
Ephesians 4:30 tells us that our behaviors can grieve the Spirit.

Led by the Spirit:
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other." Gal.5:25-26

1Cor.12:1-11,28-31 describes the Spirit meeting the needs of the church and indivu=idual believers through spiritual gifts.
I would encourage you to study the gifts and pray and ask The Spirit to show you your gifts. It is essential to know so that you can use them to build up the church. Ask, He will lead you.

Flesh vs. Spirit:
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Gal.5:17

We are constantly in battle bwtween the flesh and the Spirit. But for our sake we can hold onto 1John 4:4 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
He that is in us is the key to overcoming :he that is in the world," all that is "of the world," and all that is of the flesh.

Spiritually Mature:
1.The Natural Man:
Romans 8:9 says, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." The unsaved man or woman cannot discern the spiritual things of God. Those without Christ are spiritually dead (Eph 2:1, alienated from the Spirit of God.

2. The Carnal Man:
1 Cor.3:1-3 says, "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealosly and quarreling among you, are you not worldy? Are you not acting like mere men?"

The worldly or carnal men Paul addresses in these verses are positively saved. Paul defines the worldly man in 3:1:they are "mere infants in christ." they act very much like someone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, who is not born again...they act like "mere men."
This sobering truth should caution our tendencies to judge the state of someone else's salvation.

3. The Soiritual Man:
1 Cor. 2:15 says, "The spiritual man makes judgements about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgement."

The spiritual man is the person in which the mind of christ is activated! He or she is a person who delights in the meat of God and not just the milk. Her mind is open to those things which, "no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has concieved." She lives and thinks in a capacity far beyond that of "mere man." Why? Because she "lives in the Spirit"!

If we are going to live in as a spiritual man, it will result from a deliberate, conscious surrender to the Holy Spirit of God.

My prayer is that we all choose to live by the spirit...it is life changing...which can change the world!

until next week,
brandy

Free At Last!

Our nation today knows little about true persecution. We too rarely hear accounts of people like John and Betty Stam, young missionaries to China, who were beheaded just one month after their arrival in Tsingteh, leaving behind a three-month old infant. Or, what about Peter and Lydia Vins, missionaries to the former Soviet Union? Peter was imprisoned and never seen again.Such a heritage might be enough to dissuade a child from faith in the gospel. Not so. Their son Georgi, surrendered his life to the same pursuit, on the same field, and was ultimately imprisoned as well. Enough is enough, right? Nope, his son Peter, Jr.,grew up, dedicated his life to Christ, and followed the same path to prison. In 1979, under Jimmy Carter's leadership, the surviving Vins family members were released from prison, and they continue to serve faithfully in the United States and abroad.

Consider this excerpt from The Hidden Price Of Greatness, written by Ray Beeson and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker:
It seems a paradox that the death of Christians could be the key to church growth. Yet as surely as the cross was essential to our salvation, the sacrifice of believers is crucial to world evangelism. That is as true today as ever.
In fact, the rate of christian martyrdom has risen dramatically in recent years. The World Evangelization Research Center estimates that there were approximately 35,600 Christian martyrs in 1900 compaared to an estimated 325,000 in 1989. Martyrdom is a fact of life in at least fifty countries. The Center concludes from its research that out of the two thousand or so plans for global evengelization by A.D. 2000, "martyrdom is probably the most potent and significant factor of all."

When we read such accounts, we wonder if people like the Stams had any idea what their commitment might cost them. Would they have dared surrender to such a sentence? Consider this excerpt from a speech delivered to the Moody Bible Institute graduating class of 1932:

Let us remind ourselves that the Great Commission was never qualified by clauses calling for advance only if funds were plentiful and no hardship or self-denial involved. On the contrary, we are told to expect tribulation and even persecution, but with it victory in Christ...It is ours to show, in the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in personal communion with Him, a joy unspeakable and full of glory that cannot be affected by outside circumstances.

The speaker? John Stam, just before his departure to China.

No, we are not acquainted with this sort of persecution, but Beloved, we must pray for those who are! Yet, we indeed experience a constant persecution of sorts, waged by the most vicious of all persecutors. Just like the Stams experienced, his allied forces are closing in and his captives are many. But so subtle is this battle that all around us people are being spiritually beheaded while we often remain unmoved. Heads are rolling. This is war.
It's a matter of influence. And that just happens to be our specialty.

So this is all taken from our women's bible study: Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself.
It is a lot to take in, but it is necessary because it will step on your toes...or I hope it does.
We are doing a 10 week study, so i thought I would use this blog for a place to sum up each week and for a time of reflection.
To all the women that are a part of the study, please feel free to leave your thoughts as well:)

My prayer is that we allow the holy spirit to take up residence in our heart. That means, getting rid of all the clutter/stuff so that He has room to grow. I pray we fall on our face and surrender all to Him.
It would be a tragedy to continue to look like the rest of the world, because that means we no longer look like Christ.
We have the power living inside of us to change the world!

All for Him,
Brandy

Becoming A Global Christian

If I truly seek to have the heart of Jesus, I will seek to think the way He thinks, not just about myself and my ministry, but about the world. I will seek to feel what He feels, to cry over what He cries over, to laugh about what He laughs about, to see what He sees, every day I live. I will not just sing songs in worship services about honoring Him in all I do. I will seek to prove my faith and commitment to the vision of Jesus with action (Jam 2:18).
It is the vision of Jesus that calls me to wake up every day and think about the world. All too often the world is out of our vision as Christians; we do not regularly think about it. God sees the world, He thinks about the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As global Christians, we should too.
-- church planter Larry McKain in Falling in love with the Church, p. 245

"Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you." -- 2 Timothy 1:6

Jim Diehl, Nazarene general superintendent, speaking at the 1997 Nazarene General Assembly:

"The question before us is this:
Is there enough passion in the soul of the church to carry this holiness message to the peoples of this world?

* Our problem is not with our profession, but with our passion.
* Our problem is not with our procedures, but with our passion.
* Our problem is not with our policy, but with our passion.
* Our problem is not with our purpose, but with our passion.
* Our problem is not with our programs , but with our passion.

When it is all said and done: If we lose our passion, we lose our movement."

Passion...

My husband told me about a year ago that i was not passionate about anything. Quite frankly, that struck a nerve, but at that time,when i took a good look in the mirror, I had to agree with him...(unbeknown st to him of course!.) As I was reading a book one night almost 6 months later, little did I know I was going to be stirred with a passion that would sweep me off my feet. That is where I am today, as I begin this journey of serving alongside a body of believers that is incredible. What is even more incredible is that My Heavenly Father knew before I was born that I would have that one and only passion...To Serve Him and Him alone!
I love my family and I love my friends, but if My Father calls me to the ends of the earth, I will follow.

So, that is where I will begin this journey of blogging...I have a huge heart for missions that I did not knew existed until returning home from Uganda several months ago. I have the great privilege of helping lead our church in missions. We as a church have a passion to touch the world. We are all called to go to the ends of the earth. We want to bring God glory in all that we do and in all that we say. We no longer want to look like the rest of the world...we have to live in this world, but not be of this world.
I am reading Transformational Church as I write this blog, which I know is by no coincidence.
An excerpt from Transformational Church:
"God's heart for the world becomes a mandate for His followers to love the peoples of the world and go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20). God's love for the world is more than a special offering, a mission trip, or a video clip. When we decide to embrace the mission of God, we embrace all 6.8 billion people. Transformational Churches have learned to address the need to work both locally and globally."
I am learning to embrace this passion and desire that The Lord has placed in my heart...I look forward to road ahead...

Dear Father, I pray that we continue to stay mission minded, that we do not forget  the missionaries that are losing their lives in His name. I pray Father that we continue to seek You in all that we do, in all that way say. I pray we die to ourselves, so that you may live within us. I pray for the lost Father, I pray we are examples of your forgiving, non judgemental love. That we love others as ourselves. That we constantly keep our focus upon You.May we always give You all the glory, in all we do.  In your precious name~