So many times, I have asked the question “Why?” So many things come to mind…
“Why am I going through this?”
“What did I do or not do?”
Let me stop you here!
Things come to a screeching halt…
Let me ask you ONE question! Just one…
Where is your focus? The problem? The ‘possible’ solutions? The ‘whys?”
I will quickly and quietly add that you are not the first to go through this…
Loss of job, illness, trauma, loss – emotional, financial, ‘innocence’, even spiritually ‘upset’… The list is non-ending…
What did or haven’t you done so yet? You tell me! Done ‘figuring’ out the “whys” and “how comes”?
Difficult, no? You just seem unable to ‘piece it together.’ But, you did X-Y-Z it! So??? There is ONE thing you most likely have not done, or done totally! I will say this, and it will ring somewhat hollow! Let go totally and let God!
Here, we have to understand “Love!”
Have you ever been in ‘love’? To define this, it’s Webster time!
Definition of love for English Language Learners.
: a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person.
: attraction that includes sexual desire
: the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.
: a person you love in a romantic way.
Basic? Let us step it up a tad.
love
ləv/
noun
1. An intense feeling of deep affection. “babies fill parents with intense feelings of love”
synonyms: deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment;
devotion, adoration, doting,idolization, worship;
passion, ardor, desire, lust, yearning, infatuation, besottedness, “his friendship with Helen grew into love”
• compassion, care, caring, regard, solicitude, concern, friendliness, friendship, kindness, charity, goodwill, sympathy, kindliness, altruism, unselfishness, philanthropy, benevolence, fellow feeling, humanity “their love for their fellow human beings”
• relationship, love affair, romance, liaison, affair of the heart, amour “their love will survive”
2. A person or thing that one loves. “she was the love of his life”
synonyms: beloved, loved one, love of one’s life, dear, dearest, dear one, darling, sweetheart, sweet, angel, honey;
lover, inamorato, inamorata, amour, paramour
“he was her one true love”
verb
3. Feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone). “do you love me?”
synonyms: care very much for, feel deep affection for, hold very dear, adore, think the world of, be devoted to, dote on, idolize, worship; be in love with, be infatuated with, be smitten with, be besotted with;
be mad/crazy/nuts/wild about, have a crush on, carry a torch for,
“she loves him”
A ‘clearer’ picture evolves.
Now let me ask you, have you ever been in love? Mind you, I use a lower case “L”. What would you not do for the individual? To catch their attention? To hold it?
We have the basic definitions of love! Let us step it up a tad.
Patience, kindness, not envying, non-boastful, humble, truthful, does not seek it’s own way, but rather the way of the Loved one (let them make mistakes – no better way to learn. You state something, even write it. It has been said – it is up to you to ‘figure’ out what is right! There are examples…in our ‘go to verses in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1, we get an excellent source of fact.)
Even if doubtful, fact is fact! Lies have been told before, stories muddied, things taken without permission, individuals have been lazy, ungrateful, lost, ignorant… All leads to one place! Where you are at present!
How come everyone else seems to be doing ‘well’? At least, better than you? The question “Why?” Pops up again!
There are 8 Different Types of love to make this simple or as basic as can be:
“Eros” or Erotic Love. The first kind of love is Eros, which is named after the Greek god of love and fertility.”
“Philia” or Affectionate love.”
“Storge” or Familiar love.”
“Ludus” or Playful love.”
“Mania” or Obsessive love.”
“Pragma” or Enduring Love.”
“Philautia” or Self love.”
“Agape” or Selfless Love.”
Do we possess “Philautia”? This is not as negative as we may think. Why do you do the things you do? To be successful! Why? You and your ‘loved’ ones! What will you leave behind when you are no longer ‘here’?
Right quick, I am led to speak to a certain individual… Contemplating suicide. It all begins there. This is a microcosm in time! If you were to win the ‘lotto’, apparently all the problems will go away. But, a new set of issues appear! Taxes, ‘friends’/hanger on’ers. Where were they when you didn’t have anything? When you were down in the dumps? Ever thought about that?
Let us pray, our ‘conversation’ with God, Amen.
Father LORD, without much ado, I lay my all at Your feet. Yes, I admit that I was in doubt of Your existence but going through my impossible and implausible agony has set me aside to reason that for ‘some’ reason, I am here…led to this exact sharing. Lord, if You are there; touch me, hold me, heal me, drop this weight from my shoulders. I cannot take another step. You know me, all about me. Yes, I have not asked, now I beg!!! I lay at Your feet and weep. There is nothing, only You. You are my last and only chance. Just as I am to pray, I do not know, but I am begging You to lift me up, Amen
Brethren, for these individuals, pray, watch, be lead and reach out your arms in Love. Clothing, food, even a place to stay. Responsibility is key. Set the ground rules! They are broken? They are out!
In continuing our description of just what Love is: Honest, not self-seeking. Love forgets past wrongs! Did someone do something to you? Let it go! Just as we Ecclesiastes 1’st it. You as a Christian were sullied in and with sin! You are Loved! All old things have passed away! If you let them, all former habits, beliefs, actions are dead! They exist no more! Turn and walk away!
“Walk away from the company of fools, for you cannot find insight in their words.
It takes wisdom for the clever to understand the path they are on,
but the fool is deceived by his own foolishness.
Fools make a mockery of guilt and repentance,
but those who do what is right receive special standing.”
Proverbs 14:7-9
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; …
Psalm 1:1-6
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
http://www.luke173ministries.org/466828
Love always protects, trusts, Hope’s and perseveres.
We can further break this down. If for any reason you were at the pinnacle of plenty, would you stand for any unruliness? They, (the misdoers) are out!
Imagine (you may be one now) that staff below you are not meeting up to your standards. PINK SHEET! They are out of there! GONE! Am I correct? They essentially are not meeting expectations.
Noah worked on the ark for quite a time! Jesus in coming said that the days would be akin to the days of Noah. The biblical account of Noah begins in Genesis 6. Approximately 1,600 years had passed since the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26–27). As the earth’s population exploded in number, it also exploded with evil. Long forgotten was the righteous sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:4) as “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Verses 11 and 12 say, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” However, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8).
When Jesus described the events that will surround His second coming, He said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26–27). Jesus was pointing out that, although the people of Noah’s day were totally depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Noah is described as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), meaning he had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what the Holy God was about to do. No one listened.
The depravity and ungodly lifestyles of the entire world at that time were enough to cause the Lord to “regret that He had made man” (Genesis 6:6). Many scholars believe that part of the need to destroy every human being except Noah and his family was the sin mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4, when “the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.” As evil reproduced and overtook the world, the most merciful act God could perform was to start over.
It is interesting that God allowed Noah nearly one hundred years to complete the building of the ark. Through all that time, God patiently waited (1 Peter 3:20). Scripture seems to imply that Noah preached to the people of that time about what was coming (Hebrews 11:7). They did not believe Noah and were content with their wickedness and idolatry. Their hearts were hard and their ears dull. No one repented, and no one cared to seek God.
Jesus said that the world will be much the same before He returns to set up His earthly kingdom (Matthew 25:31–33). He warned us to “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Second Timothy 3:1–4 gives us a clear picture of the state of the world before Jesus comes and most likely also describes the world in the days of Noah. That verse says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” It is becoming increasingly obvious that, to understand what the world was like in the days of Noah, we only need to watch the evening news.
It is known exactly what ails you! Ask and peace shall be given! Seek and forgiveness and plenty will be found, Amen
Bethren, I have realized that The Word is ONE. Even, when Jesus was here on Earth, He quoted Scripture as read in the temple The Torah! Jesus coming sets