We live in difficult days, and the more we attempt to stem the tide of evil that is present in our society the more frustrated many of us become. It is in the midst of this chaos that we turn to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. allow me to paraphrase that passage, “Now you know what restrains [the antichrist] now, so that in His time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. As we struggle to understand why we cannot stem the tide of wickedness in the world, we need to understand that it is not us that does the work it is the Holy Spirit that holds back the flood of evil. Romans 1 reminds us that the “wrath of God” is revealed, not through the manifestation of disasters, but by simply removing His influence from the world. At the same time passages like Job 1:10-12 and Job 2:4-6 reminds us that Satan can not affect us unless God permits it. What a comfort it to realize that in the battle of good vs evil, God has already won, and … READ MORE

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Over the years I have asked young couples who have come to me for pre-marital counseling, why Love is greater than faith and hope. After they have pondered this question through their homework, I share with them, that is because Faith will one day become sight, hope will one day be realized, but love endures forever. Love is the greatest of these not only because it is eternal, but because even in this temporal life, love is supreme. Love already is the greatest, not only because it will outlast the other virtues, but because it is inherently greater by being the most God-like. We must remember that love is first of all and primarily a choice! The “feelings” associated with love come as we do loving acts, infatuation is centered around our feelings, but true love is built on the loving acts we share with others. It is no wonder that the first characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is love. Without the enablement of the Holy Spirit we would never be able to love the way … READ MORE

1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that everything we do should be done with the motive of glorifying God, and those acts should demonstrate our love for God and others. When we display loving acts we do indeed demonstrate to the world the glory of God. Often our problem is not that we don’t want to be loving toward others, it is that we don’t know how to do it. Let me give you three things to evaluate: 1. Recognize them as a person – They have a name, a life, and a purpose in this world. They are individuals created in the image and likeness of God and as such they have value and are important no matter who they are or what they are doing. 2. Give them proper place in our lives – The relationship that I have with them, will determine what that proper place is. This may vary because of their role in our lives, but we are responsible to be consistent in this no matter how we may “feel” about that role. All our relationships are based on God’s sovereign design and we are to recognize that God has put people into our lives to … READ MORE