Love Archives - Page 5 of 8

In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on

August 30, 2021

He is Sovereign

Human beings do not like to be controlled. We’re born with a tendency to resist what we’re told to do. And if we’re told we can’t have something, we immediately want it. We want to be in charge of our own lives and blaze our own trails! We want to be kings and queens in our own little kingdoms. This tendency goes all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). The reality is we’re not kings or queens, and there’s very little in this world that we can control one hundred percent of the time. We’re not in charge of this universe. The One who truly is in charge is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and only He is sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15). Our God is sovereign!

Tristany

1 Comment

In Bible Study, Blog, Revelation on

August 23, 2021

Lukewarm Laodicea

For a lot of people, Revelation is a scary and daunting to book to read. It talks of various seals, bowls, trumpets, angels, and plagues. It describes a dragon, a prostitute, and a leopard-ish, bear-ish, lion-ish beast with seven heads and ten horns. It speaks of much death and destruction, but also of the final victory of Jesus and the beauty of the New Earth. The book of Revelation is difficult to understand and difficult to interpret, so many try to avoid it at all costs.

But these people often forget that not all of Revelation is filled with frightening images and confusing apocalyptic language. They forget that the first three chapters of Revelation are actually letters from Jesus to seven first-century churches. While these short letters were written almost 2,000 years ago, they are still very applicable to the Church today. And one letter that is particularly relevant for the American Church is the letter to the church of Laodicea.

Tristany

In Blog, Names of God, Theology on

July 5, 2021

He is Jehovah-Raah

Sheep aren’t exactly known for being smart. They are defenseless against predators. They can get stuck on their backs. They can’t swim, so they can easily sink and drown in water. They can eat grass down to its roots, which destroys whatever pasture they’re in. Sheep have even been known to walk off cliffs. This is why shepherds are so important! The shepherd watches over his sheep constantly and protects them from predators. Sheep know their shepherd’s voice and follow him to safety and green pastures. If a sheep falls on its back, the shepherd sets them back up on their feet. Sheep are completely dependent on their shepherd.^[1]And this leads us to an amazing truth about God-

Tristany

1 Comment

In Bible Study, Blog, Ephesians on

June 28, 2021

Truth in Love

If there’s one thing the American church overemphasizes, it’s this: love. Don’t get me wrong; love is an important thing for Christians to have and to practice in their daily lives. We are called to love God, love our neighbors, and love our enemies (Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 6:35). Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it’s greater than faith or hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Those who do not love don’t know God. How do we know this? Because God is love (1 John 4:8).

Love is important for the Christian. But many people today, including many in the church, are redefining what love is. To them, love is an acceptance and an affirmation of a person and their lifestyle. To them, love means that you cannot judge someone, regardless of the choices they are making in their lives. To them, love equals avoiding controversial or uncomfortable conversations for the sake of “keeping the peace.”

This love is not a biblical form of love. These practices are not what the Bible calls us to. Instead, God’s Word calls us to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But what exactly does this mean?

Tristany

2 Comments

In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on

June 7, 2021

He is Patient

We know very well what impatience is because we live in a culture of instant gratification. We get impatient when the driver in front of us isn’t paying attention to the traffic light. We get impatient when the person before us in the grocery store check-out line has way more than the ten-item limit. We even get impatient when our internet takes more than a couple seconds to load something! This impatience often leads to us getting angry and irritated. That’s why the Bible sometimes describes patience as being “slow to anger.”

Thankfully, our God is never impatient with us. He is always patient and always slow to anger towards His children-

Tristany

1 Comment