DO YOU HAVE A LABOR OF LOVE?

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11

            Many people work for the next paycheck. Many work for fame. But what the Lord wants us to do is have a labor of love towards one another. We cannot do that if we are constantly throwing accusations, mean spirited advice, or demeaning those who are in despair. No, a labor of love is done by setting aside your preconceived notions, giving Godly counsel, and uplifting those who have hit rock bottom. It’s easy for you and I in our abundance to look down our self-righteous nose and judge. But what if what we had today was taken from us? Would we have the same outlook on life? Would we still treat people the same way? Would we still walk with our noses in the air?

Child of God, He has commanded us to love one another! So let’s start doing it!

WE NEED SOME MEN!

God ordained men to lead the home, so men, LEAD!

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Ephesians 5:22-23

What should we be led by, culture or the Word of God? If we follow culture then we will not recognize the Word of God’s counsel on the home. I mean really, it’s not popular today to say a man is the head of it. Much less is the counsel the man is the head of the wife. But can I share with you a simple truth, when men lead their homes in the way God has ordained, the wife is happier, the children are better, and society improves!

Men, lead your home in the way God wants you to; loving her as Christ loved the Church, serve her with your life, and most importantly forgive your wife when she doesn’t live up to your expectations, isn’t that what Jesus does for us?

A MESSAGE OF LOVE

Could we with ink the oceans fill and were the skies of parchment made and every stalk on earth quill and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry, nor could that scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky. --Scribbled on an asylum wall

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The most quoted, most known verse in the world is yet the most powerful. Within John 3:16 we find the depth of love that God had toward the crowning of His creation. He gave His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for you, for me, and for the entire world. Why would you neglect so great a salvation? He didn’t neglect you!!!

WHATEVER HAPPENDED TO, “UNTIL DEATH DO US PART…?”

Keeping our eyes on the Lord and being thankful for the spouse He has given, helps to protect us from divorce.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mark 10:9

In the past year, I have heard many couples facing a divorce. Some of them have been long time friends that I would’ve never thought would reach this tragic point. So what happened? What can we learn from them? What can I do to protect my relationship with my Saviour, with my wife, with my children, with those friends I have earned respect from?

I can keep focused on the work God has given me to do. Idle hands has been said to be the devil’s workshop. I have found this to be true in my life. When I “take a break” and sit down, the devil is right there with the temptations he is so good at. So get off the couch and stay busy for the Lord. 

I can keep my love focused on my wife. I am reminded of what Solomon told his son in Proverbs 5:18-20, “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” My satisfaction should be in spending time with my wife. Time in the bedroom, time on vacation, time holding hands in the park, time at the mall, time holding her close, time anywhere she wants to go… even when I really don’t want to.

I can be thankful for the wife God has given me. “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. Proverbs 18:22” Being thankful goes beyond the bedroom. It’s being thankful for who your spouse is. The person they are becoming in the Lord and who y’all are becoming together.

Your marriage does not have to end in divorce but if it already has, your life isn’t over. Take the time to learn from and mistakes you may have made. Stay close to the Lord. Get busy serving the Lord. If the Lord so graciously sends you another spouse… thank Him for a second chance!

DO YOU LOVE JESUS?

WHAT YOU LOVE YOU WILL SPEND TIME WITH!

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. John 14:23

We have all heard the message of, “If ye love me keep my commandments…” but did you know there is another part of the message? The other part of the message is, “If ye love me, spend time with me. Look once again at John 14:23 concentrating on the last part of the verse where it says, “…and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” It’s actually a really simple thought and one that makes sense. Think about it, if I love my wife I’m going to want to spend time with her. If I love a certain hobby, I will spend time doing it. And if I love the Lord I will spend time with Him. I’ll spend time in prayer with Him. I’ll spend time in His Word. I’ll spend time hearing His Word preached. I’ll spend time with His people. I’ll spend time studying and praying over His Word!

Do you love Jesus? Then spend some time with Him!

JESUS CARES!

It is when you get to doubt the love of God that you grow hard and cold.  But when you are fired with the love of a dying Savior who gave himself for you, you feel as if you loved every beggar in the street, and you long to bring every harlot to Christ's dear feet.  You cannot help it.  If Christ baptizes your heart into his love, you will be covered with it and filled with it. –Spurgeon

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

When you’re feeling you have no one to turn to remember, Jesus Cares!

When you’re think all is lost remember, Jesus Cares! When you’re down to nothing in the cupboards remember, Jesus Cares! When you are in need of a friend remember, Jesus Cares! When there is more month than the money in the bank account remember, Jesus Cares!

Hey friend, there’s no one that cares for you like Jesus does! Just remember, He gave His life for yours!

WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR MONEY?

One said to a minister who preached a sermon, after which there was to be a collection, "You should preach to our hearts, and then you would get some money."  The minister replied, "Yes, I think that is very likely, for that is where you keep your money." –Spurgeon

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

Money has been a problem for many a people for generations. The thought of getting more has split more homes than I care to talk about. More house, more clothes, more toys, more trips has added more debt into homes that become unsustainable and with those financial problems comes empty tables, absentee parents, eventually ending in divorce. All because someone’s money was their master instead of them mastering their money!

Keep money where it ought to be, under Biblical control. Just a quick reminder, He has entrusted it to us to use for His honor and glory, so use it such a way that happens!

SOMETIMES, I FEEL HATED...

In no one else in all history do you find an abiding hatred, an immortal hatred except against our Lord... The hatred against Christ has never weakened even after twenty-centuries... because he is still an obstacle-an obstacle to sin, to selfishness, to godlessness, and to the spirit of the world. --Fulton J. Sheen

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. John 15:18

Christian, while you’re standing for righteousness remember, it’s not you the world hates, it’s the God you serve! It’s the Lord Jesus! No matter what, lift high the Gospel of Jesus Christ and go on for the glory of God. He will draw men unto Him, He will save them that bow, and He will take care of those that reject Him.

RESTORE SUCH A ONE!

Hey unspiritual man, quit kicking sinners and saints when they are down!

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1

So quick we are to kick a fellow believer when they are overtaken in sin. We berate them before other believers, avoid them like they are the plague, and to some extent encourage them to find another church. Where do we find any of that in the New Testament?

Pastor, Preacher, Evangelist, Deacon, Christian friend, instead of looking down your self-righteous nose, watching your NCIS, Criminal Minds, and every other sick perverted thing you watch on TV, please don’t kick anyone else before you begin searching within your own heart where you fall short. I am reminded of another portion of scripture this morning found in, 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE SAVIOUR?

When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart not the head. –Anonymous

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

Obedience is the very best way to say “I love you!” How much are you being obedient to the Lord today? Have you obeyed Him when it comes to Bible reading? Have you obeyed Him in church attendance? Have you obeyed Him in sharing the Hope of the Gospel? In our obedience we reveal our love to our Saviour. How much do you love Him today?

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart not the head. –Anonymous

            Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. John 13:1

I sure am glad Jesus loved His disciples “…unto the end.” When Judas betrayed Him… He loved Him. When Peter denied Him… He loved Him. When He was hanging on the Cross for my sin… He loved me! His love doesn’t change due to circumstances… it remains. 

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

Life without Jesus is like a Doughnut, you have a hole in your heart. Accept Jesus and fill the hole with Love.—The Doughnut Man

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17

    Johnny Lee had a popular song in 1980, “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places.” The first three verses go like this, “I spent a lifetime lookin' for you. Single bars and good time lovers were never true. Playing a fools game, hopin' to win.” The song hit the Billboard tops and has been a hit ever since. I think this is because people of all walks of life are doing this very thing—looking for love in all the wrong places.

   They’re looking for love at the beach and the mountains. They’re looking for it as they climb the corporate ladder. They’re looking for it at the bar. They are looking for it in their bank account. There are so many places one can look but until you look to Jesus— you will always come up empty.

I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE

It is a man's peculiar duty to love even those who wrong him. –Antoninus

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

By choosing to forgive those who have wronged you shows the love of God to that person and those familiar with the situation. It’s totally against the eye for an eye and tooth for tooth mentality. It’s sharing the Gospel in the most practical way and that is the greatest duty we have o n this Earth!— Come and see, Go and tell!

A LITTLE MONEY IN MY POCKET…

Money is a good servant but a dangerous master.  –Bouhours

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10

Money is a tool in which we use to acquire things we need and/or want. Our money has been entrusted to us by the Lord to invest in things which matter. Money should not be our master, we should master our money.

How does one do that?

1. Be content with the things you have.—Do you really need a new couch or is it something you just want?

2. Be frugal with your money.—You don’t have to have name brand clothes, the skips will work for a while.

3. Be Biblical.—Do your best to only have the debt you need. There is no need to go in debt for food.

4. Put God first.—Your tithe should come out of your gross income before you pay anything else.

5. Be patient.—You don’t have to have everything now. You can make it another month without that new fishing rod.

With wise use of your money you may have a little money left in your pocket. With that you may be able to help a missionary, a family in need, or your church pave its parking lot. 

7 THINGS GOD DOES FOR YOU BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!

I.          He initiates His love- 

 He loved us first!

“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

II.         He includes us in His love- 

David commits to prayer his need of the Lord’s presence.

            “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” Psalm 95:2

III.        He inclines His love toward us- 

Friends and family will leave you high and dry but God will go with you for the ride!

            “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Joshua 1:5

IV.        He instructs us in love while in danger- 

He gave us His Word for instruction!

            “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

V.         He installs Help in love- 

David knows where to go for help! He cries out to God!

             “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

VI.        He issues Hope in love-

            While believing in God…He gives Hope!

            “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13

VII.       He influences our outlook with love- 

  If we put our faith in service toward the Lord, He will give us strength to get us through!

            “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

Nor father or mother has loved you as God has, for it was that you might be happy when He gave His only Son.  When He bowed His head in the death hour, love solemnized its triumph; the sacrifice there was completed. --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:3-5

 I have always found it confusing how Parents could sell, abandon, or even kill their own child. We hear it on the news almost every week now; a Mom sells a child for her next fix, a Dad abandons his children for selfish gain, a Mom aborts her child because she doesn’t want the responsibility of raising it, a Dad takes his child’s life because it was crying in the crib of hunger or some medical issue. What’s gotten into people? Well, the question should be, “What’s not gotten into people?” The answer, THE LOVE OF GOD!

       Friend, whether you agree with me or not on this issue is fine but what you cannot disagree with is that this world is waxing worse and worse. As some would say, “It’s going to hell in a hand basket.” In my opinion, it’s because we have stopped teaching the fundamentals found in the Word of God. We have taken the influence of a Loving Saviour and replaced it with Liberal Science.

You want to make a difference in your life and the lives of others…start with the Word of God! You want to know how to love your spouse and kids...meet the One who created love! 

Mama, I love you...

We need to say I love you as often as we can, especially when someone doesn’t expect it.

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) Ephesians 6:2

We never know what tomorrow may bring; famine, abundance, success, peril, life, or death comes with the next blink of the eye. James says, “Life is like a vapour… that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” With this thought in mind, we ought to tell those we care about we love them often!

Tell Mom and Dad, “I love you!” Tell your son or daughter, “I love you!” Let a brother or sister in Christ know you love them! Let that aunt or uncle know you love them! More importantly let the Lord know you love Him...If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

UNTIL NEXT TIME FRIEND!

Insomuch as any one pushes you nearer to God, he or she is your friend. –Anonymous

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9

We are saying good bye to a great friend today! Brother Russell Pruitt has been my friend for 10 years. He has been a person I can talk to when I could go to know one else. He has given me sound advice, even when I didn’t want to hear it. He has been a blessing to my family and I in more ways than one. To say good bye isn’t what we want to do but what we must do in order to serve God where God has us planted. Bro. Russell may the Lord bless you as you travel today and bless y'alls ministry in Montana! Love yah Bro!

STRIKE UP THE CHOIR THAT LOVES GOD AND LET IT RIP!

Our singing should be such that God hears it with pleasure-singing in which there is not so much art as heart, not so much of musical sound as of spiritual emotion. –Spurgeon

Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Psalm 149:1

I would much rather listen to a choir that loves God and isn’t polished in their singing abilities than a choir that is polished and doesn’t know God at all! You will hear in the tone of the song! You will see it on their face! You will notice it on their wet face! So get your choir fired up and sing unto the Lord!

JUST LOVE YOUR SPOUSE!

Sometimes it’s hard to love your spouse—love them anyway!        

            Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Colossians 3:18-19

            Compared to sticking it out, it is easy to throw the towel in, give up, and get a divorce. What’s hard is sticking with the low down dirty dog of a husband. What’s hard is loving your wife as Christ loved the church. What’s hard is forgiving one another and growing in God’s grace together. I often wonder when I hear of a couple going through tough times if they’ve considered what if Jesus would’ve given up on them as quick as they give up on their spouse.

Hey Hubby, love her through it. Hey Wifey, love Him through it! When you do you will be showing one another a side of the Lord Jesus you have never experienced before!