Power of Love

Posted on February 14, 2014 by KD Manes under Service

The power of love is a curious thing. Make one man weep, make another man sing.”

I remember well this catchy tune by Huey Lewis and the News in the eighties. No matter the genre—music or literature—love is the most celebrated, analyzed, and agonized topic. 218187_364190660328477_349698182_n Everyone desires to love and be loved. And there is no shortage of advice about how to love and/or how to be loved. But what does the Bible say about love?

*The following article is used with permission. ©2014 United Church of God, an International Association. Published as a free educational service in the public interest. http://www.ucg.org/booklet/marriage-and-family-missing-dimension/divorce-proof-your-marriage/different-kinds-love-menti/

The Different Kinds of Love Mentioned in the Bible

The Greek language in which the New Testament was written uses several words translated “love.” The first two listed below are found in the New Testament. Understanding their meanings helps us better comprehend God’s expectations of us.

Agapao (verb) is a special word representing the divine love of God toward His Son, human beings in general and believers. It is also used to depict the outwardly focused love God expects believers to have for one another. Agapao (including its noun form, agape ) is “the characteristic word of Christianity, and since the Spirit of revelation has used it to express ideas previously unknown, inquiry into its use, whether in Greek literature or in the Septuagint, throws but little light upon its distinctive meaning in the New Testament . . .”

This special type of Christian love, “whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, “Love”).

Reflecting the fact that human marriage is modeled after the divine relationship between Christ and the Church, husbands are told to love their wives with this kind of outgoing, selfless love (Ephesians 5:25, 31-32).

This kind of love is perhaps best expressed in Jesus Christ’s statement in John 15:13, “Greater love [agape] has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus Himself perfectly exemplified this kind of love throughout His lifetime, continually giving of Himself and His time and energies to serve others and ultimately offering up His life as a sacrifice for all of humanity. This is the kind of love God wants each of us to exemplify in our lives and particularly in our marriages.

Phileo (verb) means “‘to have ardent affection and feeling’—a type of impulsive love” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary , 1995, “Love”). This is the natural, human type of love and affection that we have for a friend and is often defined as “brotherly love.”

In John 21:15-16, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him with the agapao type of love and Peter responded that he had the normal human phileo type of love for Him. Later, after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter would be able to genuinely demonstrate agapao -type godly love, serving others throughout his lifetime and making the ultimate sacrifice in martyrdom.

Eros (noun) refers to sexual, erotic love or desire.

True love, as explained in the Bible, isn’t focused on oneself and one’s feelings or emotions, but is instead outwardly focused on others —wanting to best serve and care for them. True love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (NIV). 425239_457108351048200_531874565_n

The Holy Spirit’s Filling—Part 2

Posted on November 15, 2013 by KD Manes under God's Call

Is it possible to be a Christian, yet be unwise, unproductive, and asleep spiritually? The Apostle Paul thought so when he penned the following:

This is why it said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:14-17

What Is The Lord’s Will?

Paul continues: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery [wickedness]. Instead be filled with the Spirit.” – vs. 18

A synonym for filling is control. Paul is contrasting the negative influence/control of alcohol to the positive influence/control of the Holy Spirit.

Four Observations About The Spirit’s Filling

(Source: Tony Evans, The Promise)

God’s Command – Interestingly, there is no biblical command to be baptized by the Spirit or indwelt by the Spirit. Those are automatic blessings when we come to Christ through faith. But we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This relates to our daily experience of His influence. Our sincerity alone is not enough.
For Every Believer – Ephesians 5:18 is plural in the Greek text. Although the Spirit’s filling isn’t automatic, every believer is commanded to submit to the Spirit’s control.
God Does It – This command is passive: We are to “be filled,” not fill ourselves. We are the object of the action—filling of the Holy Spirit. If our soul is full of something other than the Holy Spirit, our life will be very unfulfilling. God has no provision for filling, satisfying, and giving us His power other than the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Keep It Up – This plural, passive command is also in the present tense. In Greek, this means to be a continuous process. Another translation could be rendered: “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.” Why? Sin, people, and circumstances take our attention away from God. But unlike a car emptied of fuel, the depletion of the Spirit’s filling doesn’t mean He has left us (Hebrews 13:5). Rather, depletion of His filling means our loss of experience and enjoyment of His full benefits.

Can you think of a time when you were spiritually asleep, drifting through life? What woke you up?

I’m learning a lot from this study and hope you are too. Next week I will explore the process of being filled and share an inspiring testimony from a brother blogger. So stay tuned!

Be blessed. Be filled . . . Rather, be filled and you will be blessed! 🙂

If you haven’t watched Billy Graham’s recent message, I encourage you to view it. His consistent, faithful witness is admirable.

Why Study the Bible?

Posted on September 20, 2013 by KD Manes under God's Call

“If there is one terrible disease in the church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is. We’re too familiar with God.” – A.W. Tozer, Worship: The Missing Jewel

Growing up and regularly attending a Bible based church has truly been a blessing. But I confess, there have been times when I allowed my relationship with God to become too casual–viewing Him more as my buddy rather than the infinite, omnipotent King of Kings. A peruse of Job 38-41, however, quickly put things into proper perspective. 🙂

When we apply ourselves to Bible study we grow in knowledge, wisdom and truth (Proverbs 2:6).

The Bible–A Map to Guide Us

God knows we desperately need a map to point us in the right direction. On our own we are lost sinners. His inspired Word provides the guidance we need to acquire His perspective and principles for living (Psalm 119). No wonder King David penned, “you [Lord] have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Psalm 138:1-2).

Knowing God’s Commands

Matthew 7:1-13 records Jesus scolding the Pharisees for claiming to know God’s will in every detail of life. They created much confusion amongst the people by adding hundreds of their own petty rules and regulations to God’s laws. Jesus said, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men,” (vs. 8).

Engaging Our Minds

Jesus used parables to explain spiritual truth, compelling listeners to think. He doesn’t want us to park our minds in neutral and follow Him in a blind free fall. He calls us to actively engage our minds in His Word (Matthew 22:37; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; 1 Corinthians 10:15; 1 Peter 3:15).

Other Benefits From Bible Study

Knowing Jesus Christ and God the Father: His justice and mercy
Understanding how to receive eternal life
Knowledge of the beginning and the end (Genesis, Revelation)
Training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)
Combatting temptation and spiritual warfare (Matthew 4:1-4; Ephesians 6:10-18)
Understanding God’s purpose of spiritual gifts and the function of His church
Discernment of false teachers

The Take Away

God wants us to not only listen carefully to His instructions, but also obey (Hebrews 2:1; James 1:22-25).

When we seek God through Bible study and prayer, He will come along beside us personally each day and help us carry out His principles. He will also grow our faith and bless our obedience.

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” – 1 Timothy 4:16

Are you currently engaged in Bible study? Does a Christian ever reach a point when he/she doesn’t need God’s Word anymore?

Coming next—“Understanding Biblical Truth.”

The B-I-B-L-E

Today’s Word

Knowing God

The B-i-b-l-e

Posted on September 13, 2013 by KD Manes under God's Call

Thank you to everyone who participated in my poll last week, posted under Back to the Basics. I asked: What do you believe about the Bible? At last check, a whopping 100% of you agreed that the Bible is God’s inspired Word to us.

I don’t want to preach to the choir, but want to follow through with my theme from last week.

The B-i-b-l-e, yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God.

I hope the following summary might be useful to you or someone you know.

What’s so unique about the Bible?

Through sixty-six separate books, 1,189 chapters, the Bible is divinely orchestrated and inspired by God—a claim the Bible makes for itself (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:2).

Although God’s Word was composed by 40 different authors in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) over a span of 1,500 years on three different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), it is a unit from beginning to end.

The Bible shares one extraordinary message: God loves you.

The Bible proves God is intimately involved and concerned about people. His unconditional love is shown in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. His sacrifice for sin allows anyone to be in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus’ work.

Interesting Facts

(Source: Study Bible Apologetics for Students, Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission)

Hundreds of biblical prophecies have been fulfilled (e.g., Isaiah 13; Daniel 2; Luke 21:5-6).

The Bible has been confirmed as being historically, archaeologically, and geographically accurate.

The Old Testament is 99% accurate when compared to the Dead Sea Scrolls dating from 200 B.C.

The New Testament is 99% accurate when compared to more than 5,600 partial and complete NT manuscripts dating from the first three centuries A.D.

Do you regularly read God’s Word, the Bible?

Coming next . . . . “Why Study the Bible?”

Back to the Basics

Posted on September 6, 2013 by KD Manes under God's Call

My chicks have flown the coop, temporarily anyway.

It’s that time of year—back to school.

Whether you have school children or not, I hope you’ve had a great summer! We have, despite my Jonny breaking his arm from a rollerblading fall on the second day of vacation. 😦 But it could have been worse.

Yes, it’s back to the basics of learning and applying fundamental academic skills: Phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, arithmetic, science, history . . . . All these foundational building blocks got me thinking of the following.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALS

Have you ever come across teaching that contained biblical truths, but contradicted another part of the Bible?

I remember being part of a women’s small group. The leader shared some great biblical truths. She was a beautiful, gifted, charismatic teacher who often recited Scripture from memory. If I hadn’t consistently read my Bible, I probably would have believed every word she said. She spoke with conviction.

But the more I listened to her teachings, the more uncomfortable I grew.

One time I asked her for Bible references to verify some of her statements. Instead of giving me a reference, she scolded me. “I’m older than you, and know more. I’ve grown beyond the basics of the Bible. I don’t need to keep studying it because the Holy Spirit is my teacher.”

Hmmm . . . .

Have you had a similar experience?

The working title for my next post is Why the Bible? I thought I would experiment with a poll. I’d appreciate your feedback. Please click on one of the following bubbles and then click vote. Thanks!