Forgiveness of sins against another

1 Kings 8:31-32, 41-44

One of the worst things an injured person can do is, leave an open wound unattended to. When we get cut, or wounded, it’s important to care for the injury immediately, before matters turn for the worse. According to advancedtissue.com, when it comes to wound care, there are a variety of mistakes people make that worsen their injury. Whether it’s using the wrong dressing, forgetting to check for debris or ignoring a cut, omissions of at-home wound care steps are bound to happen. One of the more serious side effects of failing to efficiently treat an injury is wound infection, which can eventually lead to grave ailments such as skin disease, cell mutation, or even disability.

The seriousness of caring for an open wound, is equivalent to the severity of forgiving those who have sinned. Just as injuries left unchecked can develop into more severe conditions later, refusing to forgive others, can cause all types of mental and spiritual problems, which could be difficult to remedy later on.

An injured body part affects the entire body, yet all members must continue to commit to maintaining their duties, despite apparent setbacks. In the same sense, when a fellow believer falls short of God’s glory, it’s imperative that we continue to do our part in God’s kingdom, and not allow minor setbacks to cause us to falter as well. In those dreadful moments when my shoulder would dislocate, I still had to walk, see, hear, and function, despite dealing with that painful circumstance.

The body of Christ must remain strong, even in times when our brothers and sisters fall. For this reason, forgiveness is key to keeping unity amongst the Saints, because no man or woman is better than the other, and we are all precious in the sight of the Lord. Knowing this, we should never hesitate to forgive those who sincerely seek it, or we could be responsible for causing more damage in the long run, than good.

Walk in love,

Ell

Forgive and restore broken relationships

2 Chronicles 6:22-25

When worldly men sin, there’s little for the church to get overexcited about, because this is expected behavior of anyone who lives outside of God’s will, but when members of the body of Christ sin against each other, different measures are to be taken. In the same way parents handle sibling rivalry much different than siblings fighting against the neighbors kids, church members (first of all, shouldn’t fight against each other) are to handle such matters by taking them before God. God is righteous, and judges all men accordingly, but when sin is left unchecked, or unforgiven, all guilty parties will face punishment. Imagine for a second, if your arms were jealous of your legs, then tried to injure them, so that they could receive more attention on the body. Or, if the hands were jealous of the eyes, and attempted to poke them out. That would be a dysfunctional body altogether, so imagine how God feels when the members of the church body fight and bicker amongst each other. For one thing, this sets an extremely bad example to the children, as well as embarrasses the church as a whole, to the world. God wants unity among the Saints, because we can accomplish more together, than we can divided. If we treat all men as if they were Christ, then our approach would always to be to edify, and not tear down. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35).

Walk in love,

Ell

All nations invited to worship God

Isaiah 45:20-25

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). God takes delight in seeing His people working together in harmony. Not only does He take pleasure in seeing the Saints joined together, but He made it a standard for the body of Christ to make a habit of assembling together, as often as necessary. From the children of Israel in ancient times, to the new testament church, unity has always been God’s focal point. We also learn from the apostle Paul, as the end of time draws near, we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. The world is divided, and people have joined themselves to all types of false and unhealthy religions, so it’s essential that the children of God remain in good fellowship with one another, so that the glory of God can continue to be shed abroad through their lives.

God’s love extends far beyond human comprehension, but we are blessed to experience it on various levels in this life. Not only does God want His children to enjoy the benefits of His great love, but “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God desires that all people from every nation surrender their hearts to Him, because life without God, is no life at all.

There’s no one else like God, in heaven, or on earth. He alone holds all power in His hand, and sustains everything that’s been created. Who wouldn’t want to serve a God like Him? Men serve false gods, or idols that can do nothing to save them. They place their trust in the stars and astrology, or even in their money and possessions, but all that is vanity and powerless. God, the creator of all things, is everything good, and then some! Men accept invitations to balls, galas, and other functions the world deems worthwhile, but God invited all men to join His royal family, and place themselves in a position to live an eternity in the greatest event of all time! Have you accepted God’s invitation, or are there other things more important on your list of things to do?

Walk in love,

Ell

Love one another

Romans 13:8-10

This lesson is directed toward all who claim to be Christians, disciples, or children of God. The intent of this message is to validate, or determine whether the love that abides in your heart is genuine, God-like love, or just a form of God’s intended love, without the proof of works as evidence.

Love is many things, and can be observed from multiple perspectives, but however an individual chooses to describe what love is, they cannot deviate from its source, God. God is love, literally! He is a Spirit, that is the complete embodiment of love, righteousness, power, and all things relevant to godliness. Every act, whether mighty, or seemingly insignificant, God performed was done through the eyes of love. Even in His judgment, He withholds punishment for a time, so that men can be graced with the opportunity to repent, but some are completely “souled” out to sin, and have enlisted themselves on God’s naughty list.

The biblical and descriptive definition of love can be found in 1 Corinthians 13, but love is evident throughout every book of the Bible. Believers were commanded to love, and to do it consistently. There’s never a justifiable moment when a child of God is permitted not to love someone, because love is what comes naturally from their behavior. God is love, love is God, God is in the hearts of His people, so His people should never have trouble loving others. Sounds simple, yet many who claim to be Christians have the most unruly behavior in the world. The one place the world seeks to find help and hope, is the very place that needs help as well. It’s almost a joke these days to share with others you attend church, and/or are a Christian, because the world has witnessed too many bad examples of churches, and disobedient members. When people come to a church looking for help, their business shouldn’t be spread across the community. Instead, everyone should be treated as they desire to be treated themselves.

Real love gives, without seeking anything in return, protects, without seeking anything in return, respects without seeking anything in return, and obeys because it’s right. In order to be effective in loving others, we must first love ourselves. Many problems that stem from churches and other religious communities is, those who are members have issues forgiving themselves, thus are unable to forgive others. The world needs to see real love in action again. Churches, and all who are committed to God, have a duty to spread love across the globe, without hesitation. Christians owe it to each other to love, and are bound by commandment to do so. When love reigns in the hearts of God’s people, gossip will cease, drama will fade away, fighting will come to a halt, and broken relationships will be mended, so that the body of Christ can continue to grow and develop in faith, hope, and love.

Walk in love,

Ell

Building up your faith community

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

On my daily travels to and from work, I notice seemingly unending construction taking place in all the cities I pass through. The multiple groups of workers in each location contribute equally in an effort to construct their project according as it was planned. From the foundation, to the final product, each person has a responsibility to not only handle their own duty, but also build up those working with them to make the project a success. In the same sense, the body of Christ works together to build the kingdom of God in the earth, and its important that all members of the body keep unity at the forefront of their hearts and minds. In our text, the apostle Paul admonished the Thessalonian believers to strive for togetherness, and take advantage of every opportunity to encourage each other. The people were also advised to show more respect to leadership as well, because leaders endure more than lay members are aware of. As the world becomes more divided, the church should become more of a single unit. Only through unity, can the kingdom of God be established, and men can witness the power of God in the lives of all believers. Spend more time studying God’s Word, tending to the needs of your fellow brethren, and proving to the world your love for God is genuine, and unshakable!

Walk in love,

Ell

Believers depend on one another

1 Corinthians 12:18-26

If you woke up one morning and realized that your entire body had been reconstructed to where your legs were attached to your shoulders, arms joined to your hips, ears flapping from your elbows, and eyeballs resting on the dresser, gazing in amazement at the unusual construct standing before them, do you think you could function the same as you normally do? I highly doubt you could. God formed the human body very uniquely, and in such a way that all members are significant, and contribute to the body effectively from their purposed position. When God made man and woman, He called them good, and was pleased with the finished products He formed. It matters not what size or location a body part is, but all members of the body are necessary to keep it functioning at optimal levels of performance. The uncomely, or less honorable parts of the body, like the feet, are given more honor because without them, the entire body would have great difficulty moving from place to place. From the eyes and ears, to the hands and feet, all members of the human body are important, and need each other to fulfill its purposes. Even in instances when one body part is bruised or injured, the whole body will feel the effects. Try stomping your toe on something, then watch your face cringe, back bend, arms reach, and hands grab the foot on which the “wee wittle” toe was hurt.

In the same way that the human body is joined in such a way that each member is dependent on each other, the members of the body of Christ were set in place by God, as it pleased Him. In other words, every person born again in God, through Christ Jesus, were made to do a specific job, for the purposes of keeping the body of Christ functioning effectively. While it’s true, God made everyone special, and to fulfill His will, it’s only when you’re engrafted into the family of God, do your gifts began to work effectively.

All members of churches or religious groups who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of the living God, and that God the Father created all things, but will soon make a new heaven and earth (among many other truths), make up the body of Christ. God loves all His children the same, but made us different in a good way. Each member joined into the body of Christ is dependent upon each other to function properly. Just as the feet depend on the eyes, and the hands need the shoulders, everyone striving to build God’s kingdom must work together, so that His purpose can be accomplished through them.

Believers must seek to please God from the position where He places them, and not try to prosper from someone else’s position. If members of Christ’s body would stay in their lane, and do as God leads them, there would be less drama, strife, and confusion in the church today. Make sure to play your role in life well, and never hesitate to lend a helping hand to your fellow members of the body of Christ. We all need each other to survive, but trying to function separate from the body can cause all sorts of problems to occur.

Walk in love,

Ell

Marriage: A covenant of mutual love

Ephesians 5:21-33

Everything God does follows a specific order. From the orchestration of Heaven and earth, to the roles of all living things, everything, and everyone was design to abide by the order God set in place, so that His will could be accomplished through them. Just as a car is set up to run a certain way by its designer, and if one of the many intricate parts falls out of order, the car won’t run properly, men and women who live outside of the order of God, are also living outside of His will. Thus, their lives will be out of order, until things are properly set in place.

Submission is one of the most relevant aspects of the order of God. The church is subject to Christ, as He sits at the head. Not only is Christ the head of the church, but He also protects it, and even gave Himself for it. Christ loves the church as His own body, and for this reason, He never thought twice about saving and protecting it. In the same way the church is submitted unto Christ, wives are subject to their own husbands. Although husbands and wives are to submit to one another, the order God set in place for marriage is, the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. To the average Bible reader, this command may seem unfair to the wife, but as you continue to read, you’ll see where God made certain that a submissive wife is well-taken care of.

The order of marriage was the result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. After eating of the forbidden fruit in the garden, the woman was to then be subject to her husband, and consider his word before making decisions. Also, the husband was then set to have rule over the wife.

In marriage, man is the head of the woman, but the godly man is to follow a strict order as well. Husbands are to love their wives, and protect them, in the same way that Christ loves and protects the church. Think on that for a moment. Christ gave His life for the church, rose again with all power, left the Holy Spirit with us, as He sits on the right hand of God, making intercession for us. That is a representation of love in its full manifestation! The husband is to also love his wife, as he would love himself, and protect her as he would protect his own body. Think of how many marriages would have never ended in divorce if husbands and wives followed God’s order.

The husband should never do anything contrary to godliness, because Christ would never do anything to cause harm to the church. The husband who follows God’s order treats his wife as if she’s the best thing since sweet cornbread! He cares for her needs, without question. He keeps her full of God’s Word, protected from all evil forces, and lives a life that exemplifies what holiness stands for.

The godly wife who’s submitted to a godly husband is proud to stand by his side, as the two are one, and are under the covenant of mutual love. The woman is to reverence her husband as the head, and the man is to love his wife, even as himself. The easiest way to tell how a man feels about himself is, to monitor how he treats his wife. The man who raises his hand to his wife, abuses her, uses fowl language toward her, or mistreats her in any way, usually suffers from low self-esteem, or influence from an evil spirit.

Woman are the single-most beautiful thing God ever created, and men are to treat them as the jewels they are. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it. Wives, submit to your own husbands, and reverence him as the head of your union. Only then, will the marriage between a godly man and woman be able to function as God designed, and produce to its full extent.

Walk in love,

Ell

Jesus teaches us to love one another

Matthew 5:21-32

What kind of world would this be, if God behaved like you and me? Such a frightening thought should motivate men to love more and hate less. Humans are very interesting beings; similar to the Creator, we too are three-part beings; spirit, soul, body. While God is holy and all things good, men were born in sin, and shaped in iniquity. Every man or woman who ever lived was guilty of committing sin, whether knowingly or unknowingly. We are fragile and finite beings who were created in God’s image and after His likeness, but also given the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. God is love, and the scriptures tell of His great love on every page, but many unwisely choose to deviate from God’s command to love, and entertain acts of sin and evil.

Our text reveals where Jesus continued teaching His sermon on the mount, and the topics of discussion included transcending the law of Moses, restitution and prayer, civil suits, adultry, divorce, and remarriage. In all His teachings, Jesus’ goal was to help His listeners gain a better understanding of how to operate in God’s love in all situations. In my opinion, the best way for a believer to avoid falling into states of extreme anger, hate, violence, or any other act outside of God’s approval is to daily align their character with the fruit of the Spirit. You can’t have one attribute, without the others, so saying you have love, but also have an uncontrollable temper, voids your claim to be full of God’s Spirit. Christians are to also go over and beyond to avoid conflict and dissention amongst the brethren. We are to love, and not hate. Even before bringing an offering or sacrifice to God, He prefers that you deal with your disagreements with your brother or sister, then bring your gift after conflicts are resolved. One of the biggest problems plaguing the church today is, church folk’s behavior seems identical, if not worse, than people of the world. Men and women adorned in their finest suits and dresses, treat each other opposite of how Christ taught them to. Jesus said to love our enemies, but Christians ignore their enemies while hating their own people. What if God behaved like us, and either turned His face from us when we disrespected Him, or zapped us into oblivion if we refused to obey Him. Even when we do wrong, God still loves us the same, but why do we turn against our own people when we don’t agree on things all the time?

We are the light of the world, and the world needs us to shine, so that they can see the right path to take. When we refuse to love one another, we purposely dim our light, which could cause problems not only amongst ourselves, but those who are lost could become discouraged as well. Everything we do, positively or negatively, will have an effect on someone’s life, so strive to live in love daily, so that you’ll fulfill Christ’s command to love, and store treasures in Heaven that can never be corrupted.

Walk in love,

Ell

Living with neighbors

Leviticus 19:11-18

In the Old Testament, God usually laid down strict rules for His people to abide by, in order that they remain holy, righteous, and separate from the world. Our text presents a list of do’s and don’ts that were very effective in keeping the righteous right, and identifying the children of God with their Father, which could also be applied today to yield positive results as well. I wrote concerning how believers are to live amongst other Christians a few lessons ago, and this lesson will be more of the same.

The 22 social, and religious commands mentioned in our text includes; do not steal, do not deal falsely, do not lie, do not swear falsely by God’s name, do not profane the Lord’s name, do not defraud your neighbor, do not rob your neighbor, pay wages respectfully at the end of every day, do not curse the deaf, do not cause the blind to stumble, fear God, do no unrighteousness in judgment, do not dishonor nor disrespect the poor, do not honor a man because he is mighty, judge your neighbor righteously, do not gossip, do not endanger the life of your neighbor or interfere with justice if he or she is guilty, do not hate your brother in your heart, do not allow your neighbor to sin if a rebuke will keep him from committing it, do not seek revenge, do not hold grudges against your people, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. The vibe I’m getting is, this is one of those “need I say more” situations, because the Word spoke for itself, but I’ll elaborate on a few of those commands.

Loving others as we love ourselves should be an easy task for the believer, because as I often mention, love is their motivation. So lying, gossiping, and causing others to fall would only be possible if love is replaced with selfishness. When God is in us, and we in Him, we are no longer in control, but we move at His command. This is why it’s important to set aside time daily to pray, and listen to God as He speaks to us through His Spirit. Put your trust in the God who knows all, sees all, was from the beginning, and is eternal. Let His Word guide you on the path of righteousness, and continue to walk in love as you show that same love to your neighbors.

Walk in love,

Ell

Perfect God’s love among you

1 John 4:7-21

After reading and studying this lesson’s text, I feel led to simply write exactly what the Scripture says, because it’s already stated plainly, simply, and easy to understand. So, here goes…

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (means by which our sins were forgiven) for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also”. Need I say more?

Walk in love,

Ell