True Love

I was leaving the Liberty basketball game today, and I was passing a classroom with a group of students who were just singing songs and worshiping our perfect God.  I walked right in a joined with praising the Lord.  How amazing is that!  I couldn't be more thankful to be where I am at.  So I will just give some of the people back home an example of some of the assignments I get to do here at Liberty.  I absolutely love what I am blessed to be exposed to everyday at Liberty University.  I just copied and pasted an assignment I had to do for my biblical worldview class.  I had to address a biblical worldview on marriage.  

The worldview application that I chose to talk about is marriage.  I was deprived of a Christ-centered marriage with my family, and to start to learn now what a Christ-centered marriage is supposed to be like is really encouraging.  A biblical worldview marriage is the closest thing we can come to on this Earth with Jesus Christ’s unfailing love towards us in our relationship with him.   That sets a marriage to a pretty high standard as a follower of Christ.  A worldly worldview explains marriage as just a feeling towards someone, and when that feeling wears off it is acceptable to end that marriage.  A worldly marriage is selfish love.  It is loving with the satisfaction of being loved.  The world’s love is all about how we feel with our needs being met.  It is centered around romance until that romance wears off.     True love is the only thing that has eternal value, and that kind of love can only be found through Jesus Christ. 

                ⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16  I think this is an amazing interpretation of a marriage done the way God has intended.  Jesus Christ should be the head of the marriage, and when two people make a covenant to God through marriage they become one flesh.  All the parts are joined together, and work together through the love of Christ.  Marriage with a biblical worldview does not desensitize the commitment involved in marriage.  Jesus Christ’s love for us is unconditional, and this should also be applied to a relationship empowered by God.  Nothing we ever do will make God love us any less, and this type of faithfulness should be applied to a significant other.   God’s love for us is completely selfless, and there is nothing we can do to pay him back for the unfailing love he has shown us.  I pray that I can be just as faithful with the love I pour out to my spouse one day because that is Love.

            One-third of Christian marriages still end in divorce, but this is because they never reach their potential.  God’s dedication to love us continues even when we choose to deny his love he still seeks after us.  I want this sort of dedication with my marriage, and who wouldn’t?   Another thing to look at in marriage is the complete exposure that is involved in this sort of commitment.   You will be exposed to everything when it comes to your spouse.  You will see the worst sides of each other along with the best.  I feel like we should take the same approach with our spouse as we do with God.  There is nothing you can hide from God, and when you don’t address something in your life that is holding you back spiritually it can really deprive you of your spirituality.  This should be handled the same way with your love, and if you want that love to be true love then you should address everything in the same fashion.  Don’t let any sort of unaddressed feeling, situation, flaw, secret etc.  no matter how bad it is, deprive you of a healthy relationship.  Through God is the only way to experience true love.  True love is eternal love, and that kind of love is always faithful through any kind of adversity life throws your way.  A marriage with the foundation of God will grow more beautifully that you could ever imagine, and I can’t wait to experience a love empowered by the only true lover, Jesus Christ!  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Lord, your unfailing love is amazing.  Thank you for showing me what true love is, and I pray right now that you will continue to mold me into a godly man.  True love is eternal love Lord, and I know that is only experienced through you.  I pray that true love will be reflected in every relationship I have even when sometimes it can become difficult.  I pray that the love that you have overwhelmed me with will be the same overwhelming love that I can show to others.  Lord prepare me to show selfless love, and I can't wait to have you lead my own family one day Lord.  Thank you so much for the blessings you have poured into my life, and I want you to be glorified in everything I do.  Thank you for your perfect love.  

Amen

Blessings, 

Matt

               

God is Always Faithful!

It is a hard to fathom that our God is faithful 100% of the time.  10 times out of 10.  If we discipline ourselves to his ways then our lives will reflect Godliness.  My vulnerability to sin becomes very apparent to me whenever I am not committing myself fully into the Lord.  Being a Christian isn't about living right, posting "Christian on facebook under religious beliefs, and telling yourself yeah I believe in God.  IT IS A RELATIONSHIP!  How do you think your relationship with a significant other would work if you put as much time into it as you did with God.  How would your GF/BF feel if you only opened up to them as much as you opened up your Bible?  How would she/he would feel if you talked to them only as much as you prayed to God?  How strong of a relationship would that be?  I know it is a silly comparison, but think about it.

Everything I write in this blog are things I am trying to apply to my life.  It will blow your mind with how God will work in your life when you are staying in his word, and passionately praying to him.  I always thought it would be impossible for me to overcome the sin I had in my life before I knew Jesus.  I now know that through Jesus I can overcome the sin in my life.  Through Jesus sin is revealed, and I now know what it means to have life and what it means to not experience life.  I am not a crazy person.  This is real.  I am writing this because I want everyone to experience the life that God can give them because WOW.  Below is a verse we broke down in church yesterday.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ"  -Ephesians 5:15-21


I think we can all be in agreement that the world we live in is pretty dang evil.  I will try to be a practical as I can with this verse.  You can either live a foolish life or you could be wise.  You have to understand the will of the Lord.  And do not get drunk of wine because that is debauchery.  Debauchery means excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.  It is saying do not seek a spiritual experience through alcohol, drugs (including pot because yes that does alter your mind), sex, money, and other earthly pleasures.  All those things will never be enough.  Be filled with the spirit of God!  That is experiencing something that is truly spiritual, and is always faithful.  The Holy Spirit will make your life holy, and your life will be blessed.  Being filled with the spirit will pour love into your life.  You will be experiencing something so wonderful that your life will be one of praise.  Praise for a life that God has given us.  A life not the way our wicked culture tells us to live, but a life that an almighty God commands us to live. It's for our own good because God can't be present in a life full of sin.  What is amazing is how merciful Jesus Christ is, and what he did for us.  How through his death we can be given life.  The grace through that is something that will never lose it's significance to me.  We truly begin to live whenever we trade in our old life for the new one that God can give us!

"For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more"  Hebrews 8:12

If we pour our hearts and souls into the Lord then our lives will reflect Godliness and Holiness.  Yes, nobody is perfect, but through an obedience to God we can live lives that reflect the presence of God.  I need to stay in the word of God and apply the scripture to every aspect of my life.  I need to passionately pray to my God because he is always faithful, and anything asked in Faith and by his will can be answered.    Most importantly I need to live in praise for the Grace that he has shown me.  Praise God!  Let's pray.

Lord thank you for always being faithful.  I pray that I will apply your will to my life in every area of my life.  God I pray for discipline to spend time in your word and in prayer because I know how essential that is to really experience you.  God use me as a tool for your glory.  I pray that my life will reflect Godliness so I am capable of being used for your purposes.  I pray that you will touch hearts through this blog, and that the inspiration is from you Lord and you are given all the glory.  I am a fool without the spirit of the Lord.  Thank you for giving me life, and I praise you for who you are.  God my heart beats in my chest for the Love, Joy, Peace, and Faithfulness that you have showed it.  Thank you so much, and allow me to see you for who you really are Lord.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen




Your Brother in Christ,

Matt