Love Is...

This past week in Bible study we were looking at the first aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love...” Galatians 5:21

In english we only have one word for Love. It encompasses and is used for a multitude of things. In greek the word for love used through out the New Testament for the love of God is agape. 

1 Corinthians 13 :: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails....

Agape is patient (makrothumia): does not loose heart; perseveres patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles; bears the offenses and injuries of others; is mild and slow in avenging; slow to anger, slow to punish. Agape holds on and waits for the Lord to avenge.

Agape is kind (cyresteuomai): to show oneself “useful”. Agape volunteers to help.

Agape does not envy (zeloo): to burn with zeal; to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger. Agape is not consumed by envy.

Agape does not boast (perpereuomai): a self display, employing rhetorical embellishments in extolling one's self excessively. Agape only boasts in the Lord.

Agape is not proud (phusioo): to be puffed up, to bear one’s self loftily, to be proud. Agape gives glory to God who deserves it.

Agape does not dishonor others, or is not rude (aschemoneo): to act unbecomingly, to behave in an ugly, indecent, unseemly or unbecoming manner. Agape is never obscene.

Agape is not self-seeking: Agape seeks the highest and best for another. Had God been seeking His own interest, He would have spared the life of His precious Son, and we would be hopelessly lost. 

Agape is not easily angered: The fact that agape is not self-seeking has great impact on its ability to be slow to anger.

Agape keeps no record of wrong.

Agape does not delight in evil by rejoices with the truth: Though the truth may hurt at first it will set you free. 

Agape always protects (stego): to protect or keep by covering; to preserve; to cover over with silence; to keep secret; to hide, conceal of the errors and faults of others. Agape does not expose the faults of others.

Agape always trusts (pisteuo): to place confidence in. Agape always has faith in someone.

Agape always hopes (elpizo): to expect with desire. Agape always expects the best from someone.

Agape always perseveres (hupomeno): to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee; to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments. Agape hangs in there.

Agape never fails (ekpipto): to fall powerless, to fall to the ground, be without effect. Agape is never without effect, it’s never in vain.

Agape is divine love. Agape is a response more than a feeling. And I am incapable of agape on my own. Only when the Spirit of God is living within me can I be a vessel to express this divine love. 

“For God so loved [agape] the world that he gave his only begotten Son...” John 3.16

“This is how we know what love [agape] is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” 1 John 3.16

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved [agape] us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4.10

Agape is not fueled by the desire of its recipient; it is fueled by a need. God came to earth as a man, in Jesus Christ because humanity is in desperate need of a Savior. He didn’t do it because we deserved it; we deserve to be separated eternally from God and left to our own depravity. But because God saw the brokenness of the humanity and the need for redemption and restoration he sent his Son that I could experience and know and understand the incredible, jealous, overwhelming, healing, restorative, life giving, intimate, personal, powerful agape of God. 

I can not even begin to express how grateful I am to the Lord for his agape for me. 

“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give his only Son, to make a wretch his treasure...”  

To Live by the Spirit

Recap of week two of Beth Moore’s bible study “Living Beyond Yourself:Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit.”

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To Live By the Spirit

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In the video session I learned:

1. I can’t be full of my self and full of the Holy Spirit, therefore I must “pour out my heart” (Psalm 62:8) to God. I must pour out my concerns and confessions to him in order to make room for the Holy Spirit in my life. 
2. The filling of the Holy Spirit is vital to my life. I have been created with a need to be filled and if I’m not filled with the Holy Spirit, I will seek to have that need met elsewhere. 

Galatians 5:16 “Three in One” 

The Trinity: One God, in three distinct personalities. One Lord accomplished all of creation through the Father’s will, the Son’s word and the Spirit’s way. The Father willed it, the Son spoke it, and the Holy Spirit energized it into being. The same God who willed, spoke and energized the universe into being directs all His care and distinctive direction into 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. The entire Godhead is intimately involved in your daily life using the same power and glory with which He commanded creation into being. In advance, the Father has willed and tailor-made a plan for your unique life to bring you to one “expected end.” That perfect plan has been afforded you by the precious blood of His Son, Jesus, who has extended His Word to direct you in your path. The Holy Spirit, then, teaches you His Word and empowers you to obey and follow it, thereby providing a way for simple humans to perform godly tasks.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “An Eternal Guarantee” 

The Ministries of the Holy Spirit

1. Convict or Reprove: The Holy Spirit Convicts to restore fellowship and spiritual productivity.
2. Regeneration: We must be born again -- John 3:7
3. Baptize: If you have been born again, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.
4. His Glorious Indwelling: We have the wonderful guarantee of the Holy Spirit’s residence in us with the abiding promise that He will remain forever!
5. Sealing: The seal of the Holy Spirit is for protection and identification. We are identified as joint heirs with Christ, and we are protected from the entrance of any other entity. 
6. Fill the Yielded Believer: The Holy Spirit is always ready and able to fill the believer, by He will not agree to perform this ministry unless He is in present control of the one He inhabits. 
7. Restraining: 2 Thessalonians 2:6-12 - The Spirit will not permit Satan to spread his evil without limit in this present age. 

Galatians 5:25-26 “Led by the Spirit”

Every time you understand the Word of God, the Holy Spirit has manifested Himself to you as a Teacher. Every time you realize God has “somehow” pricked your heart to discern direction, the Holy Spirit has manifested Himself through leadership. Every time you edify the body of believers through service, the Holy Spirit is evidenced as the Giver of gifts. Every time you express love for someone you never could have imagined even tolerating, you’ve witnessed the fruit of His Spirit. He continually “bears witness” with your tendered spirit; He prays for you when you don’t have a clue how to pray. 

There are two ways that I can affect the Spirit in my life. 

1. By quenching the Spirit: As in preventing the Holy Spirit from exerting His full influence in my life. Very simply it is to say “no” to God. 
2. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Do not “break his heart”: Sin in the Life of a believe causes the Holy Spirit to grieve.

Galatians 5:17 “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.” 

One of our biggest reasons for failure in daily struggles is our vain attempt to balance the Spirit and the flesh - to make them function as coworkers. It is absolutely impossible. It as nothing to do with strength versus weakness. It’s just not possible. We have three enemies: the flesh (sinful nature), the world, and the devil. 1 John 4:4 Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the World! God has given us victory over all three of our enemies if we will follow him!

1 Corinthians 2:12 “Spiritually Mature” 

Certainly God wills us to “grow in the knowledge” of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may be thoroughly furnished; but the issue of spirituality rests upon “yieldedness” to the Holy Spirit’s control. The most important ingredient is yieldedness! Yieldedness is always the result of a deliberate choice to yield...to consciously surrender. The spiritual life will never come “naturally.” If we are going to live as a spiritual main, it will result from a deliberat, conscious surrender to the Holy Spirit of God. Surrender must be a daily choice.

The Lord will honor your obedience, He brings results from my obedience, you do not. Let Him do His job in His proper time. He’ll do it, all right!

I have everything I need by virtue of the Holy Spirit within me to bear my load. I’ve got the Father’s will and the Son’s word on it. When I walk in the Spirit, it is He who carries the weights!

Yom Kippur

Today at sundown began the Jewish high holiday, Yom Kippur. The day of atonement. In Leviticus this day is mandated by the God of Israel as a high holy day. 

 God says:

“Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” Leviticus 16:34

 “...it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23.26 

“...because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.” Leviticus 16.30-31

Once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies, stand before God and sacrifice a goat as a sin offering for the people of Israel. 

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Several hundred years later, a prophet named Isaiah writes of a Messiah: 

“...because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many and was made intercession for the transgressors...” Isaiah 53

This Messiah was going to die for our sins and be an intercessor for our sins. 

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Today, I praise my mighty God that 2000 years ago, he sent his son, Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest to lay down his life as the ultimate sacrifice for my sins.

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when the priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins he sat down at the right hand of God...For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:11-14

Thai 101

I have been on a Thai food kick lately and after Lauren and I ate it last weekend, I decided it was time for me to learn how to make Thai food. So I decided to make my two favorite Thai dishes: Pad Thai and Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Soup). I started out looking up many different recipes online. I didn’t really stick to one particular recipe. I kinda took different things from different recipes and it turned out delicious! 

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Pad Thai

Ingredients: rice noodles, chicken, water chestnuts, scallions, bean sprouts, cilantro, lime, soy sauce, thai chili/garlic sauce, peanuts, garlic, onion, oil, ground ginger.

1. First I soaked the noodles in warm water limp, but still a little crunchy. 
2. While the noodles were soaking I cut up all the ingredients. Garlic (4 cloves), Onion (half), Scallions (3), Cilantro (a good handful), and Peanuts (I ground some up in my coffee grinder, not too fine though). Then I sauteed garlic with some soy sauce and cooked the chicken with some peanuts and salt and pepper in the same skillet. 
3. When the noodles were ready, I sauteed some garlic and onions in vegetable oil. Then I added a between a pinch and handful of peanuts and cooked them till they were goldenish. They cooked really fast so I had to quickly add the noodles, soy sauce to taste, a little bit of oil and some chili/garlic sauce (to taste). After I stir fried the noodles for a few minutes and they were soft, I added in most of the scallions, cilantro, bean sprouts, a dash of ground ginger (to taste) and water chestnuts. (I saved some scallions, cilantro, and peanuts and lime for garnish). After this stir fried for a bit, I added the chicken in and squeezed a lime on the top. 
4. Then I served it, topped with some cilantro, scallions, peanuts and a lime.

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Tom Kha Gai: Thai Coconut Soup

Ingredients: chicken broth (bouillon packet and water), coconut milk, red curry paste, ground ginger, oil, ground red chili pepper, jalapino, mushroom, onion, scallion, cilantro, lime.

1. First I made a two cups of chicken broth. 
2. Then I sauteed the ground ginger (1 tsp) and red curry paste (1.5 tsp) in just a little bit of oil. Then I poured in the chicken broth and let the ginger and curry paste mix with the broth. When this was hot, I added the can of coconut milk, half of a large jalapino (sliced), 3-4 regular sized mushrooms, a little bit of onion, a pinch of cilantro and scallions (more cilantro than scallions). To give it a kick I added ground red chili pepper (to taste) and squeezed a lime into it. I let it cook until the mushrooms were cooked. 

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So that was my Thai cooking adventure. It was fun and turned out so good. I don’t know how it compares to real Thai food, but it was pretty close to anything I’ve ever had at a restaurant!  

Bible Study: Week One!

I started the Beth Moore bible study “Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit” with my small group. Here’s a recap of week one.

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We first started by talking about book of Galatians, the context for the theme verses Galatians 5:22-23. 

Galatians 1:10 “Pleasing God” 

4 Reasons Christ Died for Us: 

1. He wanted to rescue us from evil
2. It was his father’s will
3. He wanted to bring us to the father
4. Because he loves us

--God chose to save us simply because it pleased him!--

As a result of knowing these reasons what else can my response be but to please God: “Seeking people’s approval can lead to sin...[God] never asks anything of us to make Himself look better. The demands He Makes on our lives are NEVER for his personal gain. We cannot make Him any more God than He already is. He would be no less Lord of lords if no one believed...He desires that we have the pleasure of knowing, serving and sharing Him. God reserves the sovereign right to be sole authority over our lives for our good, for our completion, for the conforming of our lives that of His Son...We become immediate slaves to the person from whom we seek approval. You can trust only One to constantly be on the lookout for your best interest. Only One hold the future in his hands and knows your part in that future. Only One cares for you with a perfect and unconditional love. Only One can make “all things work together for good” Only One can safely, yes, gloriously enslave you!” 

Galatians 2:20 “Crucified” 

10 Characteristics of a Crucified Life

1. Few will understand why
2. You must abandon your own will and your own agenda
3. Your intimate spiritual companions will be few
4. Intense times of aloneness with God are required
5. You will be constantly on the witness stand
6. You must go “outside the camp” (out of your comfort zone) 
7. There will be times when your dignity is forfeited : “They can take away your dignity. And we’d better learn to walk in Someone’s shadow, because in those moments when we are vulnerable and exposed, the shadow of the Almighty may be the only covering we have.”
8. You must forego your rights:But to be crucified with Christ means that you volunteer to forego all your personal rights except one: your right as a believer to be filled and led by the Spirit of Christ who dwells within you. Surrender [your rights] to Christ and ask Him to replace them with a supernatural work of the Spirit: with healing, with power, with wisdom!”
9. You must accept that death is painful: “To choose the will of God over our own is excruciating. We love our flesh and it hurts to have its desires crucified! Never misunderstand pain as permission to forego the will of God...But it is all worth it because our Savior agreed to have the sins of the world heaped upon Him and experience separation from the Father, we will never be forsaken!”
10. Because he was forsaken, you never will be!

Galatians 3:6 “Credited Righteousness”

Grace and Faith are the two crucial building blocks of our salvation. 

Grace: unmerited favor, the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver.

Faith: firm persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, reality.

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why it [his faith] was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:20-22

Galatians 4:6 “Abba, Father”

We are added to the family of God by way of blessed adoption. God adopted each of us knowing exctly what was ahead. He knew every time we would: fail Him, deny Him, desert Him, choose someone over Him, or make choices that would break His heart. Jesus knew how difficult it would be to convince us to break old habits and to overcome our previous heritage. He also knew how endless the battle would be with our previous “parent,” the devil, who was so unwilling to give us up. And having this full knowledge, HE DID IT ANYWAY - BECAUSE IT PLEASED HIM!

Tis So Sweet

Tonight at church we sang this wonderful old hymn:

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease; Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

It is so so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take him at his word and to rest on his promises!!

This is something God has really been teaching me lately, just to REST in his promise that he has “plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). To trust in HIM with my whole heart and acknowledge HIM in all my ways and HE will direct my path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I was also reading in Romans tonight about Abraham’s faith that was counted as righteousness to him. God promised to him that he would make him a great nation. Looking at this promise from a normal human perspective Abraham had all odds stacked against him. He and his wife were well past child bearing years and his wife was barren. “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’ ” (Romans 4:20-22)

My prayer is that I will have an unwavering faith and will give glory to God in every situation, knowing full well that HE has the power to do what HE has promised.

Thank you God that you are ever faithful and all powerful!