Posts Tagged ‘Lifestyle’

Whatever do you mean, “I love you”?

What does “I love you” mean? Is love a feeling?

God doesn’t ask us if we feel like loving. He tells us it’s our responsibility to love-a husband is to love his wife (Eph. 5:28). When we obey, the feeling will follow. But if it doesn’t, God’s agape love gives even when it gets nothing in return.

Rekindle God’s agape love in your heart through prayer and reading His Word. Love is an art. Learn it. Help it grow and flourish. “Pursue love” energetically and consistently without waiting for it to happen to you (1 Cor. 14, 13).

Selfless Love
Selfishness is the root problem of most marriage, family, parent/teen, and business troubles. Ego-driven people who haven’t learned to be selfless can’t develop love. The “do your own thing” philosophy leads to a culture of individual rights and demands. But love does not seek its own way. It cares about others and is excited to see loved one’s needs met.

Agapé love meets others needs with no expectation of anything in return. Friendship love (Phileo) says, “We work in a marriage on a 50/50 basis. I give 50, my spouse gives 50; that makes 100.” But in hard times, 50/50 isn’t enough. Agapé love says, “I’ll give 100% even if I get nothing in return.” Christ died on the cross for the world’s sin when He could expect nothing from the world.

Our Responsibility to Love
What if you don’t feel anything anymore? If romance is to survive, each partner, by an act of will, is to practice agape love in response to God’s command. More than 1 out of 2 couples get divorced, saying, “We don’t love each other anymore.” When they’re Christians, that’s saying, “We will not do as God commands.”

Agapé love is the one solid basis for marriage. The husband, according to God’s command, is to seek his wife’s well being-whether she deserves it or not. The Bible says to love because it’s God’s command. If you don’t get anything in return, that’s not your responsibility. Your responsibility is to love.

If two people become estranged, it only takes one agapé lover to revive the relationship. No one can withstand selfless love over a long period without responding. God’s sacrificial love does not ask, “What does she do for me?” but, “What am I doing to give myself to her?” Our world needs Christians who will share God’s love.

If you obey God, He will honor that. The message to the Ephesian church that lost its first love was: “To recover your love, here’s what you do. ‘Go back and do the first works.’” To recover the lost love in your marriage, go back and do the first works.

What was it like when there was love? How did you treat her then? What’s different now? Did you ever bring her flowers, or show your love in a tangible, out of the ordinary, way? Go back and do it again.

Love is an action, a response. When you respond, the feeling may not be there at first, but it will come. Feelings follow actions; actions don’t follow feelings. I don’t wait for my feelings to get right before I study or do the things that take discipline. Do first and the feelings follow.

Husband, if you aren’t loving your wife and responding to her, don’t wait for the feeling to come back. It may not come back, yet you are disobedient. God says to love her. In an active, open, tangible way, demonstrate your love to her.

Encouragement to Love
So, how am I supposed to love? Ask God to fill and control you with His Holy Spirit, to give you a Spirit-controlled life, because only then can you love the way 1Corinthians 13 tells you to love.

Love outlasts anything. It stands when all else falls. When the flower is off the physical relationship, the loved one is sick and can’t take care of himself, I’ve watched the partner love that person with a selfless, sacrificial love. What an encouraging witness!

Human love fails, but God’s agape love never fails.

by David Jeremiah

Every person has things they’re believing for, situations they want to see changed, and dreams God has placed in their hearts. But sometimes, we try to figure out how it’s all going to happen. If we’re not careful, we’ll put God in a box and try to tell Him how to do it, when to do it, and where to do it. Today’s scripture tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. They are higher and better than our ways.

If you don’t get your way, if things don’t happen on your timetable, instead of getting discouraged, why don’t you believe that God has something better in store? Just because it doesn’t happen your way doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Remember, God has a plan. He’s got it all figured out. Don’t limit Him by trying to get it done your way. Instead, simply say, “God, I’m trusting You. I know You have my best interest at heart. And even if I don’t get my way, I’m going to stay open and believe that You’re still directing my steps into the abundant life You have for me.”

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, I choose to trust You. I cast my cares on You. I give You my plans, dreams, and desires for the future. Thank You for working behind the scenes on my behalf. Give me Your peace as I wait patiently to see Your plan unfold. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah. Brother Christianson taught at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules.

 Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson’s class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

 One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, “You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?” Steve’s answer was, “Yeah, I do.” Then Brother Christianson asked, “How many push-ups can you do?” Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.” “200? That’s pretty good, Steve,”

 Brother Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?” Steve replied, “I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.” “Do you think you could?” Again asked Brother Christianson. “Well, I can try,” said Steve.

 ”Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” Brother Christianson said. Steve said, “Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.” Brother Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.

 Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want a donut?” Cynthia said, “Yes.” Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

 Steve said, “Sure,” and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk. Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe do you want a donut?” Joe said, “Yes.” Bro. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?” Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut.

And down the second aisle,till Bro. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companion- ship. Then Bro. Christianson asked, “Scott do you want a donut?” Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own pushups?” Bro. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.” Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?” Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!” Bro. Christianson said, “Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.”

 And he put a donut on Scott’s desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

 Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?” Jenny said, “No.” Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?” Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

 By now, the students were beginning to say “No” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

 Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely.

Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room.

When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.

Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Bro. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?” Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.”

And Bro. Christianson went on.

 A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, “NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!” Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.” Bro. Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.”

 Steve said, “Yes, let him come in.” Bro. Christianson said, “Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?” “Yes.” “Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?”

Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a doughnut? Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?” Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?” Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, “Bro. Christianson , can I help him?” Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?”

 As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.”