Fight, my brothers and sisters, for your purity!!!!!

Joel 2:13 and 14 says this, "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God."

These verses were talking about Israel right before it was taken into captivity. Israel was in a state of religiosity. The people would say they believed and followed God with their mouth but not honor Him with their words or actions or most importantly with their hearts. America and many other countries are doing the same thing. We proclaim that we are Christians but we live sinful lives! Sin is gross, nasty, disgusting. God is not ok with it.

Why did Israel go in to captivity? It was because of sin. I ask you if God sent the Israelites out of the land because of sin what might happen to American or any other country because of their sin? America or anywhere else is not more important that their sins would be over looked.
Even as believers we will still be punished for the nasty sins in our life. Do not become passive about the sins in your life my brothers and sisters. We have to do something about the sin in our life.

This passage of scripture, is to a church, the people of God that already believed in Jesus as their messiah. Put aside the theology for a moment, the puzzling idea of whether we can or cannot lose our salvation. Read this:

Revelation 3:14-16
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Webster defines lukewarm as “1 : moderately warm : tepid; 2 : lacking conviction : halfhearted.
God will weed out those who are lukewarm. DO not be lukewarm

Also found in revelation written to another church, body of believers is Revelation 3:1-2
"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”

Are you asleep? Are you ignoring your God? Are you allowing the sin that are in you life to rule? It does not matter how small there are get rid of them.

What are sins? What does God hate? These are a few verses that give the idea.

Corinthians 6:9-11. It reads as such: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offender’s nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Galatians 5: 19-21 which states, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God,” then that person is in a place that requires correction."

If there is any sin in our life to any degree, get rid of it! We serve a Holy, sinless God. He can not stand Sin! Fight, my brothers and sisters, for your purity!!!!!

"lukewarm." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.
Merriam-Webster Online. 8 May 2010

GOD’s love language

That statement just makes me smile. Humans are created with a love language. There is a way that we best except love and a way we best give it. So the 5 love languages are: quality time, gifts, words of affirmation, acts of service, touch. Do you know what your love language is? How do you best give love to someone else? How do you best receive it?

Within the past couple of weeks I have realized that God knows our love languages. He tells us He loves us through them. Sometimes it is other people that God use to tell us that He loves us but if we listen HE uses his own voice to express the pure joy He finds in us.

I LOVE getting flowers!!! I remember one Valentine’s Day my dad sent flowers to all the girls, my mom and two sisters and I, in his house hold. I was so excited. So during this past week God remember the pure joy that I get from getting flowers. This past week I was having a really rotten week. There were many things that I could not physical control that were very hard and on top of that I was sick. Almost every day that week I would find the most beautiful flowers right outside my back door. They would be laying on the ground to obvious for me not to notice. I would always find them when I would return from a really hard day and there they were waiting for me. The collections of flowers were my favorites. One day I found roses, another day this brilliant red flower. The list goes on and on of the unique and beautiful creations I would find outside my door. Each day I got something different each day something stunning. The cool thing was that they were not just flowers that had fallen of the tree in the area. NO, they were flowers I had never even seen in the general area. Every time that would happen. I would say to my roommate GOD is sending me flowers.

My love languages, that I best receive love in, are: physical touch and quality time. In my little mind a God who is never seen and not someone we can physically touch should have a problem expressing love to me in my love languages but it is so amazing because HE always find a way to express it to me. At times I will be doing every day things like riding on the bus, or eating dinner and I can feel my father in heaven stoke my hair. The first couple of times that this happened I thought it was someone behind me so I would turn around to see who it was but no one would be there. Abba has a very gentle, very soft touch; I am starting to realize when it is HIM.

There is one way that He tells me He loves me that sends shivers up and down my spine. That is when He uses His voice, audibly. Have you ever heard that? I am sitting there again just doing every day activities and He comes and says, “I am pleased with you”; “I hear you when you speak to Me.”; “KIMELA, I love you.” It makes my soul want to sing. My body just wants to jump up and dance.
The KING of the universe loves me. He is not some heavenly being that made me and forgot me. He takes pleasure in me and finds way to express His love to me!

Song of Solomon 2:4
“He has taken me to the banquet hall,and his banner over me is love.”

Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

I thought the difference between love, honor and respect enlightening. the context of verse is also very helpful.


Love-
1.
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.
a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.
a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

Matthew 5:44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 22:39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Mark 12:31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
John 15:13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 12:9[ Love ] Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Romans 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
1 cor. 13:4-8a
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails.

Honor-
1.
honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions: a man of honor.

2.
a source of credit or distinction: to be an honor to one's family.

3.
high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank: to be held in honor.

4.
such respect manifested: a memorial in honor of the dead.

Proverbs 15:33The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 21:21He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.
Romans 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves
Hebrews 13:18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

Respect-
1.
a particular, detail, or point (usually prec. by in): to differ in some respect.

2.
relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.

3.
esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.

4.
deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.

1 Thessalonians 4:12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Ephesians 5:33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
1 Peter 2:17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
1 Peter 3:7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
1 Peter 3:15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

Psalm 23 is written by King David. The whole Psalm is written from a shepherd's point of view. he drew a connection between a shepherd and God. Last week I wrote a paper on Psalm 23 and this part was very "wow" to me.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;” Psalms 23:2-3ish

“The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very make-up it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear. Because of social behavior within the flock sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax. Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger.” (Keller 35.) Sheep are very easily frightened animals. With such a worrisome constitution the sheep need the shepherd to provide the constant safety in life. If a sheep knows that the shepherd is near then there is peace. Not only does the shepherd provide peace for the sheep when it has to do with safety but also He provides peace for the sheep within the herd. Sheep as dumb as they are, create strife amongst themselves. They try to claim the position as top dog. However when the shepherd is there with the sheep all of the ladder climbing ideas quickly disappear in the sheep’s mind and there is peace among all the sheep.
Sheep are constantly attacked by bugs. There are many different types of instincts that love to drive the sheep crazy. One little insect constantly gnawing at the inside of the sheep’s little heads is enough to make the sheep beat its head against a rock or something hard in order to get rid of the annoyance.
The last reason mentioned above is the fact that sheep will not lie down unless they are free from hunger. This is psalm was written based on the shepherding in Israel. Israel’s terrain is different than other countries terrain. It is rough, hard and rocky it does not grow much grass. Then on top of all of that it does not rain but two times a year, make the abundance of grass even less then his it rained all year around like in countries such as Ireland. Therefore for an Israeli shepherd to find grass enough for his whole to be content, and now that they will not hunger is quite a task.
Water is mandatory for life. Clean water is a must. Dirty water can cause major problems there are so many types of illnesses that a sheep can get. “When Sheep are thirsty they become restless and set our searching of water to satisfy their thirst. If not lead to the good water supplies of clean, pure water, they will often end up drinking from the polluted pot holes where they pick up internal parasites as nematodes, liver flukes or other disease germs.” (Keller 50.) Sheep, like stated above, are very jumpy animals and still water is a must for these skiddish animals. They will not drink unless it is still because of their fear of movement. Just the idea of still waters sounds peaceful. The shepherd has brought them to a place that they can be at rest.
As the Good shepherd the Lord always provides for his children, so much so that they can be at peace. It not just the barely getting by amount either it is the amount that says “because I am God I provide.” The Good shepherd will prepare more than what anyone can ask for or image. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9) He is the Good shepherd that owns a cattle on a thousand hills. “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10) He provides for his children’s food and water needs to the point that they can live in tranquility because of the extreme amount that they have been provided for. Besides the physical providing for basic needs of His children; the Good shepherd provides for the spiritual food and water of his children. He makes sure that the spiritual life will be full if the people draw on him for their spiritual strength. The Good shepherd has created a peace for environment for them to live in not only from predators but also from each other.