Love your Husband Challenge week 4

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.
click here if you missed week 1
click here if you missed week 2

click here if you missed week 3

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails

Has someone you cared about ever let you down?  Maybe you were lied to, cheated on, abandoned by, deeply hurt, or abused?  Possibly even betrayed by the very person who was suppose to love you?  

If so, it may be especially difficult to imagine a love that never fails.

Oh, Taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

This never-failing Love is God Himself (1 John 4:8) . He created you in your mother’s womb and knows you by name (Psalm 139). He longs for you to surrender to His plans for He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). 

 It is heartbreaking the terrible things that happen every day in this broken and cursed world. 

Those things will either break us making us hard, angry, and bitter people 

or 

they may catapult us into the arms of Love. His heart breaks too with the sadness and pain in this world. But praise God! For He is able to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim good news to the poor in spirit, and He sets the captives free. (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18)

 We as Christians must abide daily in Christ so that though us these things would take place! 

 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love... Galatians 5:22

He is the author and source of love. True followers of Christ will be known by their love.  May we, the church, rise up in His Love to finish the work He has for us! Prepare the way of the LORD!  He is coming. 

 Love never fails. 

Challenge:

How can I be all that God created me to be?

1. Pray & plan a time/date for a personal spiritual “retreat”.

 It could be for as short or as long as you can pull off. The purpose is to “get away”  and be still to examine your life making sure your goals & focus are aligned with God’s word & match your actions. Come back refreshed and be intentional in doing something extra special for your spouse!

Love is the most important spiritual act!  It’s worth taking the time with God and yourself to re-energize and re-focus your life. We all need to do this from time to time.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and posses all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

2) Grow in love.  Put your name where “love” goes to examine areas in which you can grow.

______ is patient and kind. ______ is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. ______ does not demand their own way. ______ is not irritable, and keeps no records of wrong. ______ does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices in the truth. ______ never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ______ never fails...

Pray that your love for your husband would be pure & deepen. 

Over all, let the Truth of God’s love - He has rescued you from death & redeemed your soul! - fuel the love you have for others, particularly those difficult to love/forgive. Listen and obey. With HIM all things are possible...

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:1-2,38-39

Love in Action

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth

1 John 1:18

I was a typical snowy day in the North Country. Big white flakes covering the ground and all the dirt.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"

Isaiah 1:18

We slowly make our way to the nursing home. We slipped and giggled. Then we came in not knowing what to expect.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Isn't that always the case when you blindly and faithfully obey God's words.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

The nursing home is clean and quiet. We make our way to the nearest office and an employee takes us to the 4th floor. 

She has been working here for 40 years and has loved every minute of it. Her eyes smile and her face reflects peace.

We make our way to the first room, a little shy, a little anxious, not sure what to find there.

We hand out our Valentine and chat for a minute.

She is thankful, so thankful. The room seems a little bit brighter. She is happy because she will go home tomorrow. She is 94 year old yet her spirit is young.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

With more assurance we enter another room and another one. Mary, Judy, Muriel, John, all thankful, all happy, all smiling. John was in the navy in World War II but John does not speak so much anymore yet he smiles and joy abounds from him.

Judy is bed ridden. She has MS but she also has a spirit of gold. "I have MS but MS does not have me", she says waving her fist. 

We came to love on them and we left having been loved on. God is good and gracious and faithful to those who love Him.

I encourage you to visit a nursing home. There are treasures there, people with incredible stories, stories of faith, stories of courage, life stories.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

John 14:27

Love others?

"We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

I hope as we continue to grow as individuals, the love of God is known. I hope that the love that we have for each other is not weak, flimsy or interrupted, but rooted in the conquering love of our outpouring God. The first letter of John reveals the substantial, complete and finishing love of God. 

• God is love (1 John 4:8).
• God is the fountain and source of love (1 John 4:7).
• God’s love is the message from the beginning (1 John 3:11).
• God’s love is manifested through Jesus (1 John 4:9).
• God’s love is truly for us (1 John 4:10).
• God’s love covers our sin (1 John 4:10).
• God’s love allows us to love (1 John 4:19).
• God’s love within us proves whether or not we are his children (1 John 3:10).
• God’s love perfects us (1 John 4:12).
• God’s love is a command (1 John 5:2–3).
• God’s love is for the lost (1 John 4:12).
• God’s love gives us confidence going into the judgment (1 John 4:17).

How can God's love for us change our love for others?

We receive this love freely and unconditionally,and  there are no wrongs Christ cannot love us through with repentant hearts. God want's us to show this same love to each other. We are human, and I know we have not treated every person with Godly love, and in his loving grace we pardoned. This undeserved and outpouring of love and grace for us is our promise. Our love story with God is a great inspiration to love others purely, unconditionally, and gracefully. 

reflect Him

Who can you love this week?

Verse of the Week

Love your Husband challenge week 3

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.
click here if you missed week 1
click here if you missed week 2

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

The mind can be a very deceiving tool. We spend a lot of time there and thoughts can go round and round and drives us crazy. At the end the original thought has nothing to do with the ending thought. Why? The devil loves to play with you mind. That is how he deceived Eve “do you really think....”. 

Do you really think....... Those are dangerous words because they can easily take us down an evil path.

Love does not delight in evil my child,

I know God but do I really think.....

There are six things I hate,

    seven that are detestable to me:

        haughty eyes,

        a lying tongue,

        hands that shed innocent blood,

        a heart that devises wicked schemes,

        feet that are quick to rush into evil,

        a false witness who pours out lies

        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

oh how quickly my train of thought can lead my heart to devise wicked schemes or pour out lies. Lies to myself....

I am sorry Lord......

Love rejoices with the truth.....

What is truth?

Jesus in the book of Matthew repeats more than 10 times “I tell you the truth”. The truth is whatever the Bible says, the truth is the Word of God and I will rejoice in the truth!

 Finally, my child, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Yes father I will.......

Here is the challenge for this week ladies. How to love your husband by taking every thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5) and replacing evil thoughts with the truth.

Make a list of attributes concerning your husband in those areas:
What is true about your husband (be positive)
What is noble about him
What is right 
What is pure
What is lovely
What is admirable

Praise your husband in your mind, with your words, when you talk to him, when you talk about him.

Join us next week for our last Love your Husband challenge.

How has this journey been for you so far? Share your thoughts with us! We would love to hear from you.

Book Review

Crazy Love

 by Francis Chan

2008

This book beautifully illustrates the relentless love that God has for us. 

This love is undeservedly lavished upon us and is beyond our comprehension. We are then called  and fueled to love God whole-heartedly with all that we are and to love others as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40).   

But what does this really look like?  

What does it truly mean to be a Christian? 

How well are we loving?

Francis Chan un-ashamedly examines himself and the church sharing reasons we as Christians have missed the mark. Too often church-goers are more concerned with themselves, church attendance, or even “good works” than their true faithfulness to God. We have traded a vibrant passionate love relationship with God for an exhausting and impossible list of do’s and don’ts. Rather, our deep love for God should compel us to love and serve others in His name even when it’s outside out comfort zone.

Chan shares some inspiring and powerful testimonies of men and women who have discovered how to live and walk in this “crazy” self-giving love. To the world one who sacrifices comforts, well-being, and safety may seem 

crazy, 

but to God it is 

faithfulness and love.

  

It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity. 

Frederic D. Huntington, Forum magazine, 1890

Warning:

DO NOT read if you are presently complacent and comfortable!

DO read if you desire the flame of Christ deep within your soul to be fanned into action and spread to the very ends of the earth! 

When God uses nature to reinforce His teaching

“And at a time where the senses are on fire, it is impossible toembrace the beauty without believing embracing God!” Victor Hugo

Depending on which part of the country (or the world) you live in, you might be able to experience the marvelous beauty of fall. I love fall and I am very happy to be in the North Country where the colors are amazing.

Last year at about the same time we were in Kansas and Canadian geese would flock to Ft Leavenworth and take over the golf course for the winter. Here at Fort Drum, we have seen the geese fly south as the temperature has been dropping. I have been reading on those fascinating animals and here are some interesting facts about them.

• Fact: As each goose flaps its wings it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a V-formation, the whole flock adds 72% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

Lesson: Christ made it clear that we are not our own anymore and that we are there to support each other. A morning with fellow Christians or church is uplifting because we are encouraged by another body of believers. We are all behind Christ and follow his lead. Only then can we feel the uplift and greater flying range. I am guilty on more days that I care to account for trying to do it on my own. I pray that you will all stay in formation with me and feel the uplift!

Psalm 18:32“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” 

Isaiah 40:31but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

• Fact:When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

Lesson: It pays to take turns going the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, and resources.

Psalm 84:7

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

• Fact: The geese flying formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

Romans 12:8

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

• Fact: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Lesson: If we had as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

Ecclesiastes 4:12

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

All pictures are from Brittany Gregory and cannot be used before receiving written authorization.

Verse of the week

Uplifting quote

Love your husband challenge

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.

Click here if you missed week 1

Week 2:  Love It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

• Love does not dishonor others -  Other translations say, “it is not rude” and “it does not act unbecomingly ”.  Opposite of dishonor - honor, respect, esteem.  

Love esteems and honors others. It is empowered to do so even when the other person does not “deserve” it. Love never fails.    

How can we esteem and admire our husbands this week?  

• not self-seeking  Love does not seek out and insist its own way. 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

• not easily angered   Love does not irritate or provoke others to anger. 

Rom 10:19 NIV - Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."

Eph 6:4 NIV - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1           

• it keeps no record of wrongs  Love does not calculate and tally up all the times it has been wronged and suffered. Love looks up while laying down and releasing all the pain, injustices, and brokenness at the feet of a faithful Savior. Therefore....

 ... fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

 How can you love your husband by honoring him & putting his needs before yours this week? 

Here are a few ideas:

1. Hold your tongue!  (James 4&5)  Do not complain or say negative comments this week. 
2. Build up and strengthen your man.  Be intentional to verbally appreciate, honor, and admire him daily. Write him a note sharing you are thankful for him.
3. Examine your ways and apologize if needed. Do you seek your own way? Do you speak to your spouse with harshness provoking anger? 
4. Forgive and move on. Is the slate clean or are there past injuries that keep getting brought up?  You can’t completely move on if the past injuries are still in the present; however; you can commit to forgive and put an “action plan” in place that can help you move forward. Pain takes time to heal. By God’s grace we can forgive forgive the deepest hurts. Depending on the relationship, reconciliation is not always healthy. But when it is important remember reconciliation takes two people and time.  

If you have any other ideas and/or examples please share them with us!

Make sure to join us next week for our week 3 challenge!

Remembering our first love

As we approach spring and the season that CELEBRATES the resurrection of CHRIST would you pause with me LISTEN? 

Cease striving. 

“Be still and know that I am God”. (Psalm 46:10)  That can be a difficult task in our busy busy hurry hurry “doing” culture. But it is a vital discipline that brings life and peace. 

This week we have both Valentine’s day and Ash Wednesday, the day many Christians will begin their 40 days of lent. Lent (for those Christians who don’t typically observe it) is a 40 day period in which Christians prepare their hearts for the celebration of Easter.  Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of remembering and repenting of our sins as we recall what Jesus went through as He carried our sins on the cross.  During lent and always may we decrease so that Christ would increase in us. (John 3:30) The 40 days of fasting (fasting from the world to feast on His Word!) is a reminder of Jesus when he was fasting and tempted in the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4). The journey through Lent ultimately leads to the victorious celebration of our Savior who overcame sin and conquered death providing hope and eternal life for all those who receive Him. The greatest gift of all time! (John 1:12, John 3:16).  This is a week to remember and if needed, to re-commit to our first love. 

Examine & Commit 

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  Revelation 2:4-5

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:26

 REPENT  

intransitive verb

1  to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life

2  a : to feel regret or contrition 

    b : to change one's mind

What unconfessed sin are you holding on to?  Who are you having a hard time forgiving?  How can you decrease?  What commitments or resolves do you need to make?

Spend time with your “first Love” this week and then “go” and show His Love to a broken world.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.             1 John 4:10-12

Verse of the Week

Bible Gateway

Do you know Bible Gateway? If you do I do hope that you are utilizing this website. If not let me tell you why it is a great site to bookmark.

• Keyword Search

Need a verse for a certain issue? Kinda remember a verse but forgot the address? Use the keyword search and you can look for that information in countless versions.

• Topical Index

This is a great tool when you need to cross reference many verses in the Bible for a particular topic. If you look up love, you will have 686 verses pop up. There are 124 verses mentioning grace. 

• Commentaries and Dictionaries

Those are great tools for more in-depth study. If you need help understanding a more complex passage or the Bible or need a different perspective, commentaries are great. 

• Reading plans and devotionals

Daily time in the Word is crucial for personal growth and personal sanity. There is nothing like reading His promises for the day that allows you to face any challenges. Bible Gateway has a variety of reading plans and devotionals suited just for you! 

Keep your focus on Him!

Love your husband challenge

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.

Week 1: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Patience: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient

Synonyms: forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance,tolerance

Kind: arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance

Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

Boast: a cause for pride

Proud: having or displaying excessive self-esteem

           much pleased

 How can you love your husband by being patient, kind without showing envy or being boastful or prideful? Here are a few ideas:

1. Do not nag him about those things that irritate you (dirty socks, trash, not helping with the kids or supper)
2. Do not remind him about the times you were right.
3. Do not compare him to someone else.
4. Be sympathetic to his needs and meet them whenever you can.

If you have any other ideas and/or examples please share them with us!

Make sure to join us next week for our week 2 challenge!

Going deeper. Here are some verses on patience (Psalms 37:7-9; Proverbs 15:18; Ecclesiastes 7:8,9; Lamentations 3:26,27; Luke 8:1), on pride (Obadiah 1:3; Revelation 18:7), examples of kindness (Ruth 2:4; Luke 15:17,19)

A Glimpse into God's Heart

Our disobedience grieves God, our disobedience as individuals and as a nation. When we disobeyed as children it created tension between us and our parents that resulted in some form of punishment. When our children disobey it does the same and if we are good parents, there are consequences as well.

Why do we disobey? 

We disobey because of greed and lust. When Eve saw the forbidden fruit she desired it and took it (Genesis 3:6). When David saw the wife of Urriah he desired her and took her(2 Samuel 11:2-4). We also disobey because we are impatient. Moses took too long on the mountain and so the Israelites had to build themselves a new god(Exodus 32:23). We also disobey when we are afraid (see Jeremiah 43:2-7) or because we are prideful (see Exodus 5:2).

Unbelief is disobedience (Hebrew 3:12) and lack of love is disobedience (John 14:24). When we disobey we grieve God’s heart. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit they hid. They felt shame. God walks in the garden and ask “where are you?”

Where are you?

He is asking you today. Where are you? Are you hiding in shame. Have you convinced yourself that you have disobeyed for too long or too much? There is no sin that God cannot forgive, no disobedience He cannot turn around. A contrite spirit and a remorseful heart is all He is asking for. He can wash away your inequities and make you white as snow. No more shame, no more tension and separation from God. His joy can be yours again.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:9-11)

If you have disobeyed God for any reason pray this prayer from David. God is slow to anger and abounding in love and will forgive you and reconcile you to Him.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,

    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹ 

Do not cast me from your presence

    or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Verse of the week