Love With All Your Heart...series chapter 11

Love With All Your Heart

by:

Linda Driver

 

11

Love is forbearing:

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes.

 

Mike demanded perfection. Things had to be done just so, and everybody had better cooperate, right now! Mike had no tolerance for weakness. He was tough, and he expected everyone else to fall I line. When someone didn't meet his expectations, he would judge and condemn them on the spot. People tended to be quite intimidated by Mike's forceful methods in getting his way. He would railroad his plans and make sure they were carried out to the letter. Mike had no time for imperfect sinners in the church. "Shape up or ship out" was his motto. Mike had no idea how many people had left the church because of his harsh manner, and he really didn't care. He just thought he was purging out the worthless trash. Mike just insisted that everyone live up to his standards.

Then one day Mike came face to face with the claims of God's love as found in the Bible: 

 

"Love...bears all things."

1 Corinthians 13:7

 

"Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things."   

Romans 14:1

 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,

for this is the Law and the Prophets."   

 Matthew 7:12

 

"With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,"   

Ephesians 4:2

 

"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly,

comfort the fainthearted,

 uphold the weak, be patient with all."   

 1 Thessalonians 5:14

 

    "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 

            2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."  

 Galatians 6:1,2

 

Love accepts others just as they are without qualifications or conditions.

 

Love does not ever judge others and condemn them for their errors, faults, or weaknesses.

 

Love never uses force or tries to control, but allows others freedom to make their own decisions.

 

Love will not be forcefully opinionated and aggressive or pushy with one's ideas and plans.

 

Love is willing to give others the credit and stand in the background.

 

Love does not resent the wrong acts of others or hold grudges or bitterness against them.

 

Love does not set itself up as 'holier," but sympathizes with the weaknesses of others.

 

Love is forgiving, even to the unrepentant and to its worst enemies.

 

Love inspires, encourages, and never condemns.

 

Love promotes an atmosphere of acceptance and approval; love attracts , never repels.

 

Love seeks to lift up the weak and erring and give them hope.

 

Love never preaches down to others or makes them feel helpless or discouraged.

 

Love bears other's burdens, relating with them, crying, and praying with them.

 

Love not only bears with other's faults, but will cheerfully submit to any suffering or inconvenience that such forbearance makes necessary. 



Wow - What a Week

Ok - So I had planned on getting a blog post together about the health principals - and I have worked on it but just not done yet because...well... life got in the way.

I had my first physical therapy appointment on Tuesday - that is when they evaluated me to see what was going on with me and what I needed help with. Then yesterday I had my first real appointment doing the activities that the PT came up with to help my back. My appointment was at 11:15am. And they were very prompt at getting me back there. I began by walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes to get me warmed up. And then I spent the next hour and twenty minutes doing exercises. So yes -I was there for 1 1/2 hours. I had been under the impression that it would only be about an hour. And maybe once they don't have to explain thing to me so much it won't take so long.

I had a very nice lady do the evaluation and had noticed a lot of men working with people and had thought, "I am so happy to have gotten a lady." Well guess what - when I went for PT yesterday it was mostly a man that was working with me. It was alright. I would have preferred a woman but I will do what ever I have to do in order to improve how I have been doing.

Oh and by the way - guess what? For the first time ever I got a "free" tee shirt. The Physical Therapy place has tee shirts and gave me one! I know it is for advertising for them but hey - I like getting free stuff and it was great. I was telling my husband about it and he said, "Don't forget - you will also be getting 3 free Pathfinder tee shirts!" Yay - so I went 44 years without getting any tee shirts and then this year I get 4- that I awesome! Truthfully I am not really a tee shirt type of girl - I would rather have more girly clothes, but going to PT I think it will be the best thing I can wear - very modest and plain(grey). So I am happy! I know I could have gotten a free Carter Blood Bank tee shirt like my husband has for the last few years, since we have a blood drive at our church once a year- but I am really a pansy when it comes to having a needle in my arm - I do not like one in there- When I am having my blood drawn I am always ready to have the needle out of there asap. So I am to much of a pansy to get one of their tee shirts. Thankful for the ones I have gotten.

Anyway so I spent longer there than I had anticipated. When I got done I noticed there was a missed call from my oncology dr. So I checked my messages and sure enough it was her nurse letting me know that my Dr had to do a surgery on Friday morning, when my 2nd 3 month checkup was suppose to be so they needed to reschedule me. So I went back home and I called and set up the new appointment for next Friday. I was disappointed because I was really wanting to get that out of the way and I am really wanting to try to get the port removed before this year ends. Maybe it is a good thing to be put off a week because since I am having physical therapy during the month of November - maybe I need to wait until Dec to have the port taken out. That way I can be of good use to my MIL for Thanksgiving Dinner- one of my sister in laws will be having a hysterectomy the week before.

Well I had known about this appointment with my oncologist for 3 months and so when I realized that my appointment would be the same time as my Block of the Month meeting would be - I put off making my block and instead I worked on some little costumes for our granddaughters Sabbath School class- so the children can act out the Bible Stories. Anyway once I found out that I would not have my Dr appointment- I realized I needed to get my block done. But yesterday was a busy day with my longer than anticipated appointment and some important errands to run. Anyway I was able to force myself, and yes it took me forcing myself to get me to get to the Sewing Room and get my block done. I don't like to work on my blocks under forced conditions, it just does not seem as fun then. Anyway here is the new block:

So today will be a busy day as well- with my normal Friday cleaning and getting ready for Sabbath. My Block of the Month meeting, my husband needs to get his blood taken, and we have groceries to get. Then we are hoping for a restful Sabbath Day. Well mostly restful since we have a bon fire
that we are going to - for hot dogs and marshmellows for our Pathfinder group. Which reminds me- I need to make up some deserts to take to it. I know what I want to make - I just have to make sure I have all the ingredients.

Anyway so you can see why I did not get the post done that I wanted to get to get done. I did find a great book and I think I might have to just do a series on the health principals. So I will have to think on it and decide if I want to do one total post about what each one is doing for me and then a series of more information on each principal or just divide it up into a series. I will pray about it and see where God leads.

Ok - I hope you all have a great day! :O)

To Know God...series...The Greatest Trade

This "To Know God' book is chalked full of wonderful information. In fact, it's been kind of difficult for me to decide on the most important things to touch on. And I hope I am able to do it in a way that the proper message is conveyed, which is basically the Good News for each and everyone of us.
We "Mankind=sin and righteousness= Jesus. Jesus is the only one born into this world who was not born sinful, not born separated from God. Jesus is the only one who was ever born righteous. It is clear from this analogy that the only possibility for righteousness as far as man is concerned, would be Mankind+Jesus= Righteousness. Mankind without Jesus is still sinful. The real issue in sin and righteousness is whether or not Jesus is in the life."

      But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.   

Isaiah 64:6

"If everyone in the world, except Jesus, is born sinful(Rom. 1:16). Jesus, our Saviour, provided salvation at the cross, through which the power of sin is broken. When a sinner accepts this great salvation, he is born again, and the greatest trade ever made takes place."

The Bible talks about the greatest trade ever, in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For he (that is, God) hath made him(that is, Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." We could change the wording just a bit: For God hath made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we, who knew no righteousness, might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Excerpts from pgs 23, 25

And thanks so some very helpful friends - We have a great song to go along with this portion as well. :O)

What You Sow...You Will Reap

This morning I found something amazing and I wanted to share it with you. I sure hope I am able to translate what is in going on in my mind into words and have it understandable.

I had been looking in my Bible Commentary to better understand a verse that I had read and came across this:

"True Religion is often represented in the Bible as an experience of peace."

 

Peace is highly sought after.

 

And when I saw this I could not help but divert my studies to looking up verses that went down the line of this thinking. It took me to Romans 8:

 

    For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God;

for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.     

Romans 8:6-7

 

(It was very interesting to me when I got my "They Layman's Parallel New Testament" out and read these verses in all 4 of the translations. But since I have a lot more to share with you - I will not add all the versions of this text here- if any of you are interested in seeing the others just let me know and I will post them as well.)

 

The next verse I was led to was in Galatians:

 

"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,

 but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Galatians 6:8   

 

    I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

             17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 

            18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.   

Galatians 5:16-18

 

 To see what it looks like to sow to ones flesh all we have to do is continue reading in Galatians 5

starting at verse 19:

 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 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.   

Galatians 5:19-21

 

And when we continue to read in Galatians 5 we will see what it looks like to sow to the Spirit:

 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

             24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

            25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22-25  

 

What a contrast this is!

 

Did you notice the contrast?

"carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  

 

We have a choice.

 What do we want to reap?

 

if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption,

if we sow to the Spirit we will reap everlasting life

 

By allowing God through the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us, by surrendering our sinful desires and allowing Christ to live His live through us are we are able to overcome our sinful desires.

 

This is exciting to me! I have a choice

day by day

decision by decision

and through the help of the Holy Spirit I can live my life for Jesus Christ

and by doing so I can reap peace and so much more..!

(Thank you Lauren for sharing this)
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?   
Micah 6:8

To Know God...series...It's Our Choice

"One day my dad came to me and said, "Son,  have a proposition to make to you. I want to give you a million dollars."
And I laughed! I knew a little bit more about my dad's bank account than that!
But he persisted.  "Pretend that I'm a multimillionaire and that I'm going to give you a million dollars. Are you interested?"
"Of course."
He continued. "There are two conditions. First of all, you have to agree to spend the whole million in one year."
Well, I would have preferred to spread the fun out over a longer period of time, but better a million for one year than no million at all.
"The second condition is that at the end of the year, you die in the gas chamber."
And I said, " I beg your pardon?"
He said, "At the end of the year, you die. There's no way out You can't use the money to get lost on some tropical island. It s a sure thing that you'll die at the end of the year. Are you still interested?"
I said, "No way!"
"Why not?"
"Because I'd be spending the whole year thinking about the gas chamber. And that would spoil eve the fun of one year."
I've tried that out on many people since that time, and the answer is usually the same. It is not that good a deal to trade one year, even if it is a fantastic year, for a whole lifetime.

The Moral of the Story!



Then my father came in with the punch line that you could expect a preacher to give his preacher's kid! "Now pretend that I am the devil, and I make you a similar offer. I say, 'You can have seventy years to do exactly as you please. No rules, no regulations. You can do anything, go anywhere. No inhibitions, no morality, no restrictions. Have fun. Live it up. But at the end of the seventy years you will end up in the lake of fire with me.' "

And my dad said, "Are you interested?"
There are thousands of people who have accepted this offer and thought that they were making a wise choice.
Most of us are willing to accept the premise that it would be foolish to settle for one year when seventy years are available. But what about settling for seventy years when you could have eternity? It's foolish, even on the basis of logic and reason, to turn down God's offer of eternal life. But thousands have turned it down and will turn it down. Thousands will settle for the temporary pleasures and lose eternity."

Today I wanted to leave a song that I thought fit in perfectly at this point in this series. Enjoy! :O)

Happy to Report

Hello~ How have you all been? I am doing pretty good. I am so thankful for this cooler weather that we have had. And the gas prices being down- the lowest they have been in quite some time is great too. Even though there is a BIG chance that after tomorrows elections the prices will go up. I will let you know if that happens. Yesterday we actually only paid $2.48 a gallon. It is sad to say only with that gas price since when Jason and I first got married we only paid about $.97 cents a gallon. And any gas over $1.00 was quite high... those were the good ol' days.

Last week I did not get a lot of exercise in as in walking specifically for exercise; however, I did end up mowing on three of the days last week which helped me get good exercise, especially since I mow our yard with a push mower now. My husband will be working on trying to get our riding mower going - but I will still be using this one on at least half of the yard since I really need the extra exercise. The front yard is a bit harder for me to do because I don't feel the freedom to stop when I get really tired - so I plow through to get it all done and by the time I am done I am tired. It is a pretty big yard. And it is kind of lumpy and bumpy as well which causes it to take more energy to get it done. So when we get the riding mower fixed I will probably use it for the front yard for sure. We will see though. Anyway I did go for a walk today and feel good.

Speaking of the good changes I have been making - I am officially at 10 pounds lost now since the last of August. It is slow go - but I am at least going in the right direction. And I am happy because I am not doing it in a diet kind of way - I am doing it in a eat healthier kind of way. More fruits and veggies and healthy fats like avocados, olives, and nuts. And by doing it this way I am able to make it a way of living that will last the rest of my life.

While I was on my walk today I was thinking about the Health Laws and I thought that I would work on a post where I share how each of them has benefited me. I know I have posted this stuff several different times but I feel the information is very important for us. So you can be looking forward to seeing that on Wednesday or Friday.

I better get off of here for now - I am making bread today and it is getting close to me needing to pull it out of the oven. I hope you all are doing well. :O)

Love With All Your Heart....series chapter 10

Love With All Your Heart

by:

Linda Driver

 

10

Love is righteousness;

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness and injustice, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

 

Ms. Gabby had a loose tongue that always seemed to be flapping. The trouble was, the only things about which she seemed to talk were the unfortunate situations in other people's lives and the flaws in their characters.

 

She would hunt diligently for a juicy tidbit of gossip and then run with delight to spread it around. If someone was having family troubles, Gabby would be the first to find out, and within hours the whole church knew about it. Gabby had a very pious way of gossiping, however. She considered herself to be deeply concerned and interested in people, and she would often begin her little gossip sessions with, "We really need to pray about so and so, because...." But deep in her heart, Gabby enjoyed discovering sins in others. It made her feel better about herself and her own sins, which were many.

 

She was in her prime when someone really made a bad slip-up. She would relate all the gory details, even making up a few of her own. When nobody was having any problems, Gabby found life rather boring.

 

Then one day Gabby came face to face with the claims of God's love as found in the Bible:

 

"Love...does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth."

1 Corinthians 13:6

 

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.   

Romans 12:9

   

 A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

Proverbs 11:13

 

 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.    Proverbs 20:19

 

    But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.    1 Peter 4:15

 

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.  

  Proverbs 10:19

 

Love always looks for the good in others and believes in them.

 

Love does not repeat or listen eagerly to unfavorable reports or gossip, but rather seeks to bring to mind the good qualities in others; love doe not needlessly expose their faults.

 

Love rejoices when right and truth prevail; love is for justice, honesty, and integrity.

 

Love does not ever encourage or entice others to sin; love never participates in any evil.

 

Love hates sin, which is based on selfishness and finds no pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

Love never does or thinks anything contrary to God's will, for God is love.

 

Love cannot coexist with worldliness, sensuality and evil desires; love never justifies evil.

 

Love keeps the holy law of God for love is the fulfilling of the law.

 

Love never excuses sin itself; love never does anything that would cause a brother to stumble.