August 2013 – Page 3 – Old Paths Journal

Deadly Responses to Sin

Genesis 19:16
“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”

Make no mistake, sin always leads to death. Romans 6:23 is still true when it says, “The wages of sin is death:…” Galatians 6:7 is still relevant when it says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” You can play with sin and think you can get away with it, but sin always has a due date, and you must pay the bill when it’s due. Sadly, when it comes to sin, I find there are some deadly responses to sin that many people make.

The first response to sin is lingering in it. The verse above said about Lot, “And while he lingered,…” Lot had already been told to get out of the city, but he wanted to linger in the city. Lingering is not jumping whole heartedly into sin, but it is simply loitering around sin. Many people don’t want to commit sin, but they don’t want to leave the presence of it. You can linger around sin, but it’s influences will eventually take you and cause you to sin. Lot lingered in sin, and eventually the sin he lingered around influenced him to get drunk and impregnate his daughters. You can’t linger in sin without it changing you.

The second response to sin is looking back. When Lot and his family left the city of Sodom, Lot’s wife looked back because she was going to miss the sin. You can’t look back to sin without going back to it. Too many people keep on looking back to sin wondering what they’re missing. Let me make it clear, you are not missing anything with sin. You must be careful that you don’t look back to sin and think you’re missing out on something. The only thing you are missing out on is the heartache and pain that sin brings.

The third response to sin is wanting to do it one more time. In Exodus 8:10, Pharaoh wanted to keep the frogs for one more night because he wanted to enjoy his sin one more time. One more time always leads to another time. Often people say they will do it one more time and quit, but they end up doing it more than just one more time. The best thing you can do with sin is to simply forsake it. Always remember that if you don’t do sin one more time, there will never be a second time.

The fourth response to sin is saying, “It’s not my fault.” Adam and Eve fell into this deadly response in Genesis 3:12. Adam blamed it on Eve, and Eve blamed it on the serpent. There is no excuse for sin. Nobody made you choose sin. You chose to do it yourself. Nobody put a gun to your head and caused you to sin, you made the choice to sin. As long as you blame others for your sin, you will never overcome it.

The fifth response to sin is thinking it won’t happen to you. Samson made that mistake in Judges 16:20. He thought he was smarter than everyone else, and that he would never face sin’s judgment. Friend, you are not smarter than sin. You may think it won’t happen to you, but it will. You may think your spiritual actions will keep God from judging you for your sin, but you are wrong. Sin has a price that must be paid.

The sixth response to sin is to say, “I didn’t do it.” Acts 5:8 shows us that Ananias and Sapphira thought they could cover their sin, and they were wrong. You can cover sin for a while, but eventually it will be exposed. You are not smarter than God, and you can’t hide your sin from God.

Let me ask you, what is your response to sin? The best response to sin is found in 2 Samuel 12:13 when David said, “I have sinned.” Stop ignoring your sin and acknowledge it. According to Proverbs 28:13, God’s mercy will only be applied when you truly face your sin and get it right with Him.

A Spouse’s Influence

Genesis 3:6
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

When God created Eve, He created her to be a help meet for her husband. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” In other words, Eve was created to help make her husband stronger. She was created to complete him. If she fulfilled her role as a spouse, then Adam would be a better Christian, husband, father and citizen of his country.

What is sad is that Eve did the opposite of what she was supposed to do. It says in the verse above, “…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” That fruit that Eve gave to Adam was the forbidden fruit. That fruit came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead of pushing Adam closer to God, Eve tempted him to sin, which he eventually did. Though Adam was ultimately responsible for his own actions, Eve was responsible for weakening him.

One of the most valuable lessons which can be learned from this story is that a person should never be responsible of making their spouse weaker. Your goal as a spouse should be to protect your spouse from those things that could cause them to sin. You should not be the one who causes your spouse to do things they should not do. You should make your influence on your spouse an influence for good. There were some things that Eve did that influenced Adam to sin that if we avoid them we can influence our spouse for right.

First, don’t take your spouse to places that would influence them for wrong. Eve would have never had the forbidden fruit in her hand if she had not been in the presence of the forbidden tree. You should never be responsible of bringing your spouse to the wrong place. For instance, don’t influence your spouse to visit the wrong type of church; instead, influence your spouse to attend and join the right type of church. There are many places we can take our spouse that would be wrong. Before you ever suggest that you and your spouse go somewhere, ask yourself if you would want God to catch you in that place.

Second, don’t set things before your spouse that would cause them to do wrong. Don’t ask your spouse to watch a television program that you know would be wrong. Don’t look at websites that would cause your spouse to see something they should not see. A married couple should be influencing each other to do right.

Third, don’t use your influence to persuade your spouse to do something they know is wrong. Eve’s influence was great! Yes, Adam was the first person who sinned, but her power of influence caused him to take of the fruit. Every married person has great influence over their spouse. Don’t abuse that influence to cause them to do wrong. Use the influence you have with your spouse to encourage them to do right.

Let me ask you, are you influencing your spouse to do right or wrong? Your spouse should be a better Christian because they are married to you. If your spouse is a weaker Christian because they married you, then you have used your influence for wrong. With whatever influence you have with your spouse, use it to influence them to do more for God. The power of influence in a marriage is great. So, use that influence for good.

Castle Building

by: Rhonda Kennard

1 Corinthians 3:9-10 tells us, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry: ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon.”

In medieval times castles were constructed not only to be the home of kings, nobles, and their families, but they were also built for defense against the enemy. Medieval castle building required around three thousand workers who labored under the direction of the master builder.

Today, Christian women are also constructing our castles for the Master Builder, Jesus, the King of all kings. Each day as we arise, we choose, either consciously or carelessly, which building materials we will use to construct our castle.

Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” How do I become a wise woman building my castle? How do I avoid becoming the foolish plucking it down with my hands? Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines “plucketh” as: pulling down; overthrowing, ruining or breaking down. I can only become a wise castle builder by seeking the wise Master Builder daily and oftentimes, hourly. Sometimes, the activities of the family, the needs of little ones or perhaps just the daily tasks can become tedious or overwhelming. It would be to my benefit (and for the benefit of others) to just stop and silently call out to the Father, the Wonderful Counselor, for His peace and His guidance. Otherwise, I can become the foolish pulling down, ruining, or breaking down that which I have just built.

“In the day when I cried thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” (Psalms 138:3) I must always remember, I am never alone in my castle building!

Second, I can only successfully construct my castle using perfect plans, the Holy King James Bible. Castle building is a lifetime process that may be discouraging and will be very difficult at times, but hard work is also rewarding. 1 Corinthians 15:58 encourages us, “…be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

It is also extremely important that as I am building the castle, I keep it clean by confession of my sins as the Holy Spirit speaks to me. Sin clutters the mind and heart with confusion and unhappiness; therefore, hindering strong and satisfying castle building. My “castle home” must be prepared daily for the presence of God, my Heavenly Father. This castle must be built to guard and protect from sin, the world, and the Devil… All enemies of the King of kings. These enemies seek to invade the castle in order to devastate and destroy every Christian’s precious life.

Solomon was chosen to build an earthly house for God. (1 Corinthians 28:10) Solomon said in 1 Kings 5:5, “…I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord.” Although Solomon was chosen by God to build the house of the Lord, David was chosen by God to assemble the materials for the house of the Lord. David carefully sought and chose only the best building materials. David did not go to the bargain stores or “near-new” shops for these materials. This was not going to be a common building. I love to shop for bargains at “near-new” shops, but when building my castle, I cannot afford to use cheap building materials. I must avoid using the worthless materials of pride, selfishness, discontentment, and covetousness. Pride causes contention in your castle. (Proverbs 13:10) God destroys the house of the pride. (Proverbs 15:25) Pride goes before destruction! (Proverbs 16:18) God commands us to avoid covetousness and to be content (Hebrews13:5.) God warns “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong.” (Jeremiah 22:13)

It is of utmost importance that I not only seek the Lord Jesus Christ daily for wisdom, strength, and guidance when building my castle, but I must also build on the Lord Jesus Christ and the truths of His Word. A personal and faithful walk with God brings a sweet security into the castle. If I use building materials such as the Word of God, abundant prayer, love, forgiveness, humility, and righteousness, God will bless my efforts and undertake for me in my lack.

Finally, I must strive to fill each room with pleasant and precious riches (Proverbs 24:3-4) of understanding, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Galatians 5:22-23) Why should we be a castle builder? Our loved ones need and desire a place of safe retreat; a refuge where they know that they are loved, important, cared for, and protected. Strive to build your castle to be the most God honoring, loving, secure, place of defense from your enemies of sin, the world, and the Devil for each of our cherished loved ones. 1 Corinthians 17:26-27, “And now, Lord, thou are God… Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee forever: for thou blesses, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.”

Rhonda Kennard
Assistant Pastor’s Wife
Longview Baptist Temple
Longview, TX

Seasons

Revelation 6:11
“And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

God says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To every thing there is a season,…” I often say that life is cyclical. In other words, life is filled with patterns. There will be ups and downs, but no season will last forever. It doesn’t matter what you do, there is a season for what you’re doing.

God says in the verse above that there will be a season when the brethren will endure persecution. What I love about this is that God says it is a “little season.” In other words, it won’t last forever. When you read the Book of Revelation, you can clearly see there are seasons. There is a season when the heathen triumph, but there is also a season when the triumph of the wicked will be over. We see that Satan’s season is over in Revelation 12:9 when it says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” In fact, God warns the inhabitants of the Earth in Revelation 12:12, that Satan’s wrath will be great “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Even Satan understands there are seasons in life, and his season will soon be over.

Friend, no matter what you face, you must always remember that it is only a season. What you face can seem unbearable, and it can seem as though it will never end, but it will end because it is only for a season.

Seasons of life are just like the weather patterns we face every year. I have lived in areas of the country where the winter months are very cold and snowy. When the cold of winter is biting at you, and the snow is piling up, you can almost begin to think that summer will never come. Then, there are the dog days of summer when the temperatures are in the hundreds every day, and you wonder if the heat will ever end. Yet, every time the cold of winter always leads into the warmth of summer, and the heat of summer always leads into the coolness of winter. Seasons are only for a short time.

Let me remind you that your health problems are only for a season. Your financial set backs are only for a season. The hardships that you face are only for a season. You may think that it will never end, but like the cold of winter and the heat of summer always end, so your hardships and trials will soon come to an end as well.

God reminds us in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” You must not let the heat of your hardships cause you to faint, for you must only endure it for a season. Let the thought of the arrival of the next season encourage you to keep going. It may seem it will never end, but like every season comes to an end, your hardship will end and you will find the enjoyment of life again.

While you wait for the next season of your life to come, keep praying and walking with God. Rely on God’s strength, and don’t listen to the voice that tells you to quit. Claim God’s promises as your anchor of hope. Realize that God is with you in your season, and a better season will soon come.

Living in a Heavenly World

Revelation 4:1
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

John had no choice but to be exiled on the isle of Patmos. He had no power to change his physical condition. Rather than allowing his physical condition destroy his spirit, he was raised in his spirit out of the isle of Patmos into Heaven. Here is a man who had every reason to complain, but instead of complaining, he chose to live in another world. Was it easy to live in another world? Not at all! Yet, John was able to overlook his horrible conditions and live in a heavenly world. Let me show you how he accomplished this.

First, he moved on from the past. The Book of Revelation is divided into three categories: past, present and future. (Revelation 1:19) John quickly moved on from what happened in the past. He didn’t live in the past; rather, he lived in the present trying to influence his future. Friend, you will never live in a heavenly world when you live in the world of the past. Many people destroy their own spirit because they won’t move on from their past. It doesn’t matter whether your past is good or bad, you must move on from it if you want to live in a heavenly world.

Second, he chose not to allow his present world to destroy his future. You must realize that John was living in horrible conditions, but those conditions did not destroy his spirit. I don’t know your present condition, but I do know that you must not allow it to destroy your spirit if you are going to live in a heavenly world. Everyone has hard times. You are not the first to face what you’re facing. If John can live above his present world, then you are going to have to choose not to live in your present world of hardships. You must choose to rise above it.

Third, you must remove the obstacles that keep you from living in a heavenly word. Chapters 2-3 are about churches that had things that needed to be removed. Apply these things to your own personal life. You will never live in a heavenly world as long as you allow the sins of this world in your life. God will never raise you to the heavenlies until you remove the sinful actions that are keeping your from living there. Look at these seven churches and learn what God wants you to remove from your life.

Fourth, allow preaching to change your life. In the verse above, John heard a trumpet. The trumpet is always symbolic of preaching. You would be wise to listen to good preaching on a regular basis. Don’t just wait until Sunday and Wednesday to listen to preaching, but listen to it regularly. Good preaching has a way lifting you to the heavenlies.

Fifth, spend personal time with God. You will notice God said, “Come up hither,…” You need to have a time every day when you come up to God and allow Him to speak to you through His Word and you speak to Him through prayer. John had to accept God’s invitation to be lifted up from his present condition, and you must accept God’s daily invitation to have a personal time with Him.

Finally, choose to see the good in life. John spent the rest of the chapter describing the wonderful place of Heaven where we will go someday. Friend, you will never live in the heavenlies until you choose to see the good in life. You must train your eyes to see and your mind to think of the good in people and life.

Yes, we all have to live in this present world, but we don’t have to allow it to influence our spirit. If you will apply these steps to your life, you will find that you can live in a heavenly world no matter what you face. Make the choice today to make this day a day in which you live in a heavenly world.

Where’s the Bible

by: Dr. Steve Heidenreich

I’m reminded of the Wendy’s commercials in 1984 that said, “Where’s the beef?” In the commercial they showed a hamburger, which was made up more with a fluffy bun than the beef. Throughout the whole advertisement an older lady kept saying, “Where’s the beef?”

My question today is, where’s the Bible? Today, we have a lot of fluff being passed off in Christianity, and someone needs to remind us of the Bible. So, I’m asking Christians today, “Where is the Bible?” We have a lot of fluff in our life, and in our home, and even in some of our ministries, but the Lord wants to know where is the Bible?

I would like to share how important the Bible has become to me in my life, home and ministry. I think sometimes we take for granted that God has given us his Word and how important It should be in our lives. Thank God for soul-winning pastors who still believe in going house to house. Back in August 1970, a pastor and deacon stopped by our country farmhouse and led my wife to Christ on a Thursday night. Then he returned the following Saturday and gave me the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I was saved. The greatest day of my life is the day of my salvation. Being guided by the pastor, he showed us the importance of having our own Bible. As a young couple we went to the Christian bookstore and put a Bible on layaway. After a few weeks, we got our 1st copy of the King James Bible. Little did we know that this Bible would play such an important part in our lives all these 43 years of living.

I personally came from a rough background as a child. I came from a broken home and was practically raised on the streets. I always knew that there had to be something better. After reading the Bible and being taught It in Sunday school, and listening to the preaching of God’s Word, It began to change my life. As my wife and I began to apply the principles of the Bible to our lives and our home, God began to bless in a wonderful way. Our love for each other grew stronger and stronger as the years went by, and our marriage has continued to be blessed after 45 years. I can’t thank the pastors and spiritual leaders enough who have always encouraged me to be in the Bible. The most prized possession that I personally own today is my Bible.

It is a great responsibility to rear children for the Lord. There is no way that our children are going to have an opportunity to turn out right without getting them in the Bible. I believe that the most important thing for a parent is to know that your children are going to spend eternity with you forever. The best way for our children to know that they are going to Heaven is to get them to know their Bible. 2 Timothy 3:15 says, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” We have 4 children, and we taught them early in life that they must read their Bible every day. We praise the Lord for the time that they received the plan of salvation and trusted Christ as Saviour. I cannot tell you the joy of knowing that my children will spend all eternity with my wife and I. All of our children have married saved people, and by the grace of God all of our 8 grandchildren are saved and on they’re way to Heaven. My wife and I have always prayed that the Bible would be an important influence in their life’s decisions as they serve the Lord.

We are not going to rear children for the Lord if the Bible is not present in our homes. It is sad today that you can walk into many homes and not find a Bible anywhere. We have replaced the Bible with Xbox’s, Nintendo’s, computers and all types of electronics. Our children and grandchildren spend hour after hour on these things. They begin to think and act like computer games, and we wonder why they end up like they do. We are so worried that our children won’t fit in and have what others have, so we spend more time trying to give them the things of the world instead of giving them a Bible that will make them what they ought to be. Most the time they are never encouraged to spend any time in God’s Word. We wonder why we are losing our children to wayward behaviors; it’s because we have allowed all these outside influences to have more time with them than with God’s Word. Many parents spend more time shaping their children into athletes or helping them chase the American dream than being what God intended them to be for His honor and glory. It’s sad that most young people are more excited about being the next American Idol than being the next servant of God. The main reason that even happens in our Christian homes is that the Bible has not made an impact upon our children’s lives.

I was always taught what you do with the Bible determines what God does with you. If you want God to do something with your children, then get them to do something with their Bible, like read It, memorize It, teach It, and give It away to others who don’t have one.

God has given my wife and I a ministry of getting the Gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world. When you think of it, that is a great responsibility that people from all nations, kindreds and tongues would have an opportunity to hear the Gospel at least once. I’m often reminded as I open my Bible that there are over 3 billion Bibleless people in the world today. They have nothing to compare their false teachings to if they do not have a Bible. The greatest instrument that the Holy Spirit of God has is the Word of God to convict them of their need of a Saviour. I have had many opportunities to travel worldwide teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m always amazed when people trust Christ, one of the first questions they ask is, “Can I have a Bible.” They know that they need to learn more about God. What they have been taught in the past has done nothing to change their life. I can’t explain the way people react to getting a Bible. I have personally been able to give away thousands of Bibles in my lifetime.

When I was in the Philippines as a missionary, at one of our Wednesday night Bible studies I was asked by the people of our church if we could give away 50 Bibles on one of our Sundays. The Holy Spirit laid upon my heart to give away my own Bible on the 1st anniversary of our church which was Bible Sunday. It was a blue Bible, trimmed in gold and it was my favorite Bible. I told the people that I would give it to the person who brought the most visitors on Bible Sunday. Two ladies went out and worked very hard to bring visitors for that Sunday. On Bible Sunday the people in the mountains of the Philippines came out in unbelievable numbers. We had 3 services, and 1,109 people came, and we gave away hundreds upon hundreds of Bibles. The exciting thing was that the 2 ladies who worked so hard, brought 160 first-time visitors for that one blue King James Bible. I have traveled to many different countries and spoken to many people from different religions, and the Bible has always been the best promotion to get people to come to church.

I took a mission trip to Thailand. I was asked to go with the missionary to the Burma border to a refugee camp. As I arrived and stood outside the refugee camp, I was shocked by what I saw. There were thousands of poorly made bamboo buildings with grass roofs. As we walked through these homes, I saw poor people with so little. I asked if we could have a Bible study in one of the homes. They gladly received this and gathered 14 people to hear the Bible taught. We used our missionary as the interpreter to speak to these people. After giving a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, these 14 adults trusted Christ as their Saviour. One of the older ladies in this group could speak English. I asked her if there was one thing I can do for them before we left the camp. I knew they had very little material things. They told me that the camp had been there for 14 years, and the previous month was the 1st time they got flour. They have been living on so little, so when I asked the older lady what one thing I could do for her, I was amazed at her answer. Thinking that she wanted something physical or materialistic to help her and her family, she said, “Could you please leave your Bible for me that I may read It to my people?”

I wish the Christians of America could have such a strong desire to know the importance of their Bible. We have taken for granted the opportunity of personally having our own copy of the Bible. America has been blessed with the Word of God. We have It on our iPhone, iPad, iPod and computers, and still give It very little attention. If we would spend more time putting the Bible into our minds and heart, we would be better off. I pray that this article may help you put the Bible back in your life, your home and the place of service that you have for the Lord.

Dr. Steve Heidenreich
http://missionsminutes.blogspot.com

Godly Wisdom

James 3:17
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

Wisdom is dangerous in that it can fill a person with pride. Yet, it can also be very helpful if a person obtains their wisdom from God. Having the right type of wisdom is important to what you are trying to accomplish.

According to James 3, there is a wisdom that comes from above, and there is another wisdom that is of the world. There is no doubt that each type of wisdom gets results, but it all determines what type of results you truly want. Your desire should be to have a godly wisdom that will produce lasting results.

Wisdom that is not from above can easily be identified. Worldly wisdom is a selfish wisdom. Worldly wisdom will tell you how to get what you want. Worldly wisdom is worldly and based on feelings. God even says that worldly wisdom is “devilish.” In other words, worldly wisdom is deceptive because the Devil is deceptive.

Worldly wisdom produces bitterness and strife. When you follow the world’s way of doing things, you will find that bitterness and strife are caused because worldly wisdom does not care who it hurts to get what it wants. This type of wisdom may seem to give you what you want, but you won’t like the results of the strife it causes in your life.

On the other hand, godly wisdom is an unselfish wisdom. Notice, it is first pure. In other words, you can identify godly wisdom because it has no ulterior motives. The only motive that godly wisdom has is that God’s will is done. The purity of godly wisdom comes from the fact that others are the sole beneficiary of this wisdom.

You can also identify godly wisdom by the peace it gives. In other words, it will keep peace between people. Because godly wisdom is not selfish, nobody is ran over to get what they desire. Godly wisdom keeps people getting along because nobody has to watch their back and wonder if they are going to be stabbed in the back.

Furthermore, godly wisdom is gentle in how it handles situations. Godly wisdom is not concerned with things, rather it is concerned with keeping people from being hurt. The gentleness of godly wisdom is out to preserve others.

Finally, you will find that godly wisdom produces good fruit because it is merciful. In other words, it treats everyone the same. God says it has no hypocrisy in it. What godly wisdom does for one it does for all.

Christian, whenever receiving wisdom from someone, always use this measuring stick to determine whether it is godly or worldly. Always remember that godly wisdom will give you godly results. If you seek for wisdom in godly places, then you will find the wisdom that comes from above.

Byproducts of Love

Philemon 1:7
“For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.”

There is a byproduct for every thing and every action. For instance, if I plant a kernel of corn in the ground, the byproduct is a stalk of corn. If I press the accelerator pedal down on my car, then the byproduct is the car will move. We could go on with illustration after illustration to show that there is a byproduct to every thing and every action.

One of the key ingredients in the Christian life is love. You will never be a successful Christian without having godly love. All the talent in the world will never substitute for love. Talent without love is empty. Love is the key ingredient that all must have if they want to fulfill the will of God for their life.

Yet, we find that love has a byproduct. In the verse above, Paul talks about the love of Philemon. He tells what Philemon’s love produced in others. You must understand that love’s byproduct is never for the individual who loves, but it is for the individual who is being loved. Love is giving and not receiving. When someone exercises true love on others, you will find there are desirable byproducts that come with it.

First, love will give “great joy.” Not only will you find that love gives you joy, but love will also give joy to others. One of the greatest needs of our day is joy. The reason life is not filled with joy is because of the lack of love in our society. Your marriage will never experience true joy until you have true love in it. One of the reasons married couples fight with each other is because their marriage is filled with selfishness. That will never produce joy. When married couples decide to have true love and not a fleshly love, then they will find joy in their marriage. Many homes lack joy because they are filled with selfishness. When you find a home where each tries to make others happy, that is true love and the byproduct is joy. You will never find the joy you want until you start loving others the way that God loves us.

Second, love gives comfort. That comfort comes from a security that you are not loved for what you can give, but you are loved because of who you are. True love is loving someone in spite of what they do, because true love is given to the individual because of who they are. God doesn’t love us because we are good, God loves us in spite of our bad. When you find love like this, it gives comfort to all those around.

Finally, love will refresh others. Being refreshed means it will give energy. When you love others, you will find there will be a vibrancy or life in that relationship. Churches that are filled with true love are churches where there is an exciting atmosphere. Homes filled with true love are homes that are refreshing to be in. You will find true love will recharge or refresh any relationship.

Friend, the byproducts of love are great. If you will determine to start loving people, not for what they can do for you, but for what you can do for them, you will find these byproducts in your life. Who doesn’t want joy, comfort and refreshment? The way to get these is by exercising true love to those around you.

R.G. Gray Needs Your Prayers

R.G. Gray and Bro. Domelle — Taken during the 2013 Teen convention

Please pray for R.G. Gray. R.G., the son of Pastor Bob Gray II, is going into surgery tomorrow for an aneurysm in his arm. R.G. has had to go through several surgeries and this one seems to be very serious for this young man. He is a great young man who has faced many health issues in his young life. Please pray that God will guide the doctors hands and that his surgery will be a success. Thank you for your prayers.

Hurt By Those We Love

by: Sandy Domelle

This past month God blessed my parents and allowed them to find a better place to live. To me, this was an exciting blessing because it moved them around the corner from me. With this blessing came some extra work. The hard work was that we needed to help move my parents. While helping my parents, my husband and I were moving a piece of furniture and I stepped on the corner of the sidewalk sideways. I had pain shoot through my ankle, but I kept on going because we had to get the rest of the furniture into the house. I kept on going in spite of the soreness in my ankle.

The next day, I realized how much I hurt my ankle. I looked at my ankle and it was swollen and bruised. I went to stand up, and the pain shot through my ankle. It was swollen so bad that I couldn’t put on my shoe.

Suppose I had let the pain from my hurt ankle cause me to be upset with my parents? Or, if while I was helping my parents I told them when I hurt myself that I was never going to talk to them again. That seems ridiculous, but many people tend to let their hurts destroy relationships.

This reminds me of what David said in Psalm 41:9 when he says, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” David laments the fact that his friend is the one who hurt him. This was someone with whom he spent much time. This was probably someone with whom he had fought many battles. This was someone with whom he had spent hours together serving the LORD. Yet, now his friend is the one who turned on him and attacked him. David was hurt while trying to help his friend. When I look at this story, I see several lessons we can learn from it.

First, if you work with someone long enough, you will be hurt. If you’re not careful, you will destroy a relationship because you take the hurts from the heat of the battle personally. You must expect hurts to come in any relationship. If you spend enough time with someone, they are going to hurt you. For instance, marriage is not going to be like Hollywood where you live happily ever after. When you spend a lot of time together, you are going to experience hurts. Likewise, a parent and child are going to be hurt at times because they spend a lot of time together. If you stay in your church for any length of time, then you need to expect that people will hurt you. You can’t expect to be together for a lengthy amount of time and not be hurt.

Second, don’t let the hurt stop you from helping others. When I hurt my ankle, I kept on helping through the hurt. When someone you love hurts you, or a fellow Christian does something that causes pain, you must not let the pain stop you from helping others. Ladies, we are good at carrying a grudge and saying we are never going to help someone in that area again. Imagine if Jesus had said, “I’m not going to help people anymore because they hurt me.” Where would we be right now? When hurts come your way, work through the hurt and keep helping others.

Third, don’t take the hurt personally. In the verse above, you can see that David took the hurt personally. In the next verse he says, “But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.” David wanted to get even with his friends because of what they did to him. He felt this way because he took the hurt personally.

Suppose I had taken the hurt from my ankle personally and blamed it on my parents. Imagine if I determined to get even with them because I hurt my ankle while trying to help them. I know, you think this is foolish, but that is what we often do when someone hurts us. If you take the hurts personally, you are going to want to get even. Be careful about taking everything so personally. Give people a chance to have a bad day.

Fourth, ask God to help you with the hurt. David asked God for help, but he did so for the wrong reason. He asked God to help to him get even. When I hurt my ankle, I wrapped it so the hurt would heal. If you are going to overcome hurts from relationships, then you are going to need God’s help. Tell God how you feel, and ask Him to help you overcome the hurt.

Finally, realize that hurts can help build a relationship. If you don’t take the hurt personally and instead work through it with that person, then you will find on the other side of the hurt your relationship will be stronger. Too many married couples let the hurts destroy their marriage when they could work through them and find their relationship is stronger. Find out what caused the hurt and learn what you can do to avoid it. By doing so, you will build a stronger relationship.

If you are in a relationship for any length of time, you are going to experience hurt. Be careful that you don’t let the hurts destroy your relationships. Give people a chance to have a bad day, and when the hurt comes, work through it and allow it to build your relationship. The hurts in relationships will either destroy you and the relationship, or it will build you and the relationship. What are you going to allow your hurts to do?