Liz Blog, Faith, Love Series

Love Series | Launching 8.1.16

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  

(Matthew 22:37-39 KJV)

Introducing… the Love Series on LizMargaret!

We have a desire to connect with others. And it’s perfectly normal. God created us to have this desire–and to have fruitful relationships with those around us.

In every type of relationship you can imagine, Christ is an example of how we ought to love. It’s quite amazing. Think about it:

In marriage:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25)

We are called into the family of God, as His children:

And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:18)

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1)

In friendships:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. (John 15:13-14)

In every example, Christ is the center. Everything points back to gospel. God Himself has modeled love for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Christ laid down His life for us, we are called to do the same for Him. We are called to die to ourselves in our service to Him and to others as He commands.

Yet as we navigate different relationships (friendship, romance, family, etc), we often face pain, disappointment, confusion, betrayal, and heartbreak. Due to our imperfect nature, these feelings may be inevitable, but God’s Word provides endless wisdom on how we should conduct ourselves in relationships and what we should avoid.

When we remain rooted in Christ, we allow His will for our current and future relationships to manifest, as we are led by the Spirit to have discernment in who we allow into our lives and what it looks like to love them.

The Love Series will look at four women in the Bible who show that following God is the only way to live life and treat others as He intended.

Love Series | Overview:

Part 1: Ruth

Part 2: The Samaritan Woman at the Well

Part 3: Anna

Part 4: Elizabeth

These are real women, with very different stories. They exemplify faith as well as human faults. They are forgiven women, friends, disciples, and leaders. Each of them teach us that when the gospel is evident in the way we live, we are set apart from the world, bringing glory to God in our lives and relationships.

Look out for new posts in this four-part series every Monday, starting August 1, 2016!

Liz Blog, Faith

The Power of Encouragement

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

(Romans 12:9-13, ESV)

We want what we can’t have.

It’s so natural to search for that person/thing that is not available to us. Yet focusing on these things easily strips us of feeling loved or understanding our worth. It can deceive us into thinking there is nobody there for us.

Romans 12 calls us to “hold fast to what is good”–what nourishes us, what blesses us–and stick to those things. This can include those around us who are already pursuing us and uplifting us. Or better yet, this can include when God is speaking to us.

God can guide us in subtle ways by His voice. This is one reason why I love spending time in His Word. The more you get to know Him, the better you can distinguish His voice. Someone once gave me an excellent analogy. If you’re in a crowded room and you hear your mother calling you, you know it’s your mother. Why? Because you’ve spent so much time with her that you know what she sounds like. Similarly, when there seems to be confusion or “noise” in our lives, we know what God sounds like when we know what He would say (and the Bible is filled with exactly what His words are!)

The people in our lives can be used by God. This is one of the reasons why I value godly friendships so much. People who are also lead by the Spirit can bless you with words of encouragement that the Lord wants you to hear.

I found that when I do feel discouraged, God meets me where I am. Often times, I’ve seen His love through a random yet uplifting message/call, a surprise visit, or a hospitable act. Then when I take a step back in that moment, I realize how this person managed to encourage me exactly where I needed encouragement or even managed to be a direct answer to prayer. These moments are near-impossible for me to ignore because we live in a world in which we easily get lost in our own business. But when I see someone who is living in a way that rejects this pattern, I can’t help but notice and be grateful.

Those who constantly go out of their way to share God’s love through encouragement inspire me to be more intentional. When we intentionally encourage others we radiate Christ’s love. What’s so powerful, astounding, and beautiful about that is God might be using YOU to lead this person to something greater.

The best way to start is asking God, “How can I serve someone today?” This might be a painful process. God might be leading you to break down barriers in your heart that hinder you from encouraging others. This might mean forgiving someone who has done wrong to you, communicating with someone you refuse to speak to, etc.

Yet when you understand that God is guiding you and is not trying to harm you, you can seize the opportunities He is leading you to with a peaceful and open heart.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(Galatians 5:13-14, ESV)

Liz Blog, Faith

Friendships, Rejection, and The Bigger Picture

Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

(John 15:20 KJV)

At 1:00 a.m., when I should’ve been asleep, I caught myself in my thoughts. I found myself thinking:

There’s some people I really wish I was never friends with.

In the past, there’s people I felt I gave my best to them–my time, my love–and it felt as though they just took it (or maybe not even that!) and left without even looking back. I didn’t know if this was the right attitude to have, but I sincerely felt hurt and confused by that.

Was I taken advantage of? Did I do something wrong? Did they?

The longer questions poured into my mind, the more I found this “human hurt” so interesting, because we–and by, we, I mean everyone–have treated God the same way. The world has and continues to do so. God created the world–a world that has come to reject Him. What’s mindblowing is the fact that He still loves us unconditionally. He still gave His only Son for our salvation, being fully aware of the kind of rejection that He would experience.

I then started thinking: Would I have still offered just my friendship to certain people, if I knew that in the future they would have just betrayed and rejected me?

My first instinct was to say no. Why would I have wasted my time?

Yet God provided His Son to give eternal life–not just to anyone special but to everyone in the entire world. Everyone.

Ever felt ignored by someone who you care about? People deny the very existence of God–the same people He loves in ways we cannot fully comprehend and the same people He just wants to have a relationship with. He does not turn His back on them.

So I prayed: Okay, God. How am I supposed to see the people who have rejected me?

That’s when I started picking apart John 15:20.

“A servant is not greater than his lord.”

“If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

I quickly realized that there’s a much larger struggle going on here–one that is beyond human relationships. We live in a world that has rejected God. The mere name of Jesus Christ–the Son of God–alone is hated by many. So, if you are trying to reflect Him, don’t be surprised if you lose relationships along the way.

Our purpose on Earth is much greater than the people we might lose. I believe people are often in our lives just for a season. And because of this, the most important job I believe a Christian has is to radiate God’s love despite this–especially while we still can to certain people.

Love, knowing that you may not receive it in return–which honestly, might often be the case. Love, knowing that you may be rejected but understanding that Christ Himself has done the exact same thing and was rejected in a way we never will be.

He was rejected in this way–crucified on a cross, where He was brutally beaten, spat on, mocked–so that we might have freedom and eternal life with Him in Heaven. And yet we, as humans, still have the choice to reject Him (but He did it anyway!)

As Christians, we have accepted Christ as our Savior and now we have this eternal life that He died to give! The best we can do is to share His Word in hopes that others join in on this freedom.

And if people are ever placed on your mind at 1:00 a.m., that might just be the Holy Spirit giving you a little reminder to show Christ’s love by praying for them.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

John 15:12 (KJV)