Chapter 15: Learning The Language of Love
Jeremiah 29:11 King James Version (KJV)
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Instead of looking and judging what you don’t like about someone, pray to God to change those things about that person. What makes them not the right person for you? Is it your perception? The desire of wanting something more? What if you were given what everything you wanted from God? Would that ever be good enough? Ask yourself? Would you find the means to your end once you have reached the finish line? Would you appreciate and give thanks for what was given to you? Would the search cease to end?
I am learning every day the importance of these teachings. I am definitely not perfect and I do miss the mark on a lot of these things in my journey. Jesus is the greatest example and expression of love.
10 Biblical Ways to Love:
Listen without interrupting (Proverbs 18)
Speak without accusing (James 1:19)
Give without sparing (Proverbs 21:26)
Pray without ceasing (Colossians 1:9)
Answer without arguing (Proverbs 17:1)
Share without pretending (Ephesians 4:15)
Enjoy without complaint (Philippians 2:14)
Trust without wavering (Corinthians 13:7)
Forgive without punishing (Colossians 3:13)
Promise without forgetting. (Proverbs 13:12)
Today I drove home listening to a sermon about God and the preparation of his bride. I kind of chuckled on my way home because whilst hearing I found something that God and I both share in common.
I find comfort that he understands me. God clearly gets me.
He knows and is well aware on how I feel inside whilst waiting patiently for my wife and perhaps I have a glimpse of how he feels waiting for us too. Although his bride is many and the two cannot be compared in size; they can be compared with the gift of patience.
Jesus waits for his bride; the church. Who is his bride? Well, for those who don’t know the bible; it is you, it’s me and it is those who have come prepared and those who are lost. There is no other way for us to be saved. He clearly calls us to be ready with oil in our lamps. Desiring us to come prepared with oil in our lamps received through faith and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the continuing presence of God in our lives.
Matthew 25
King James Bible: Purple Letter Edition
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his {several} ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not spread; 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not spread; 27 Thou oughtest, therefore, to have put my money to the exchangers, and then, at my coming I should have received mine own with interest. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him who hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
31 When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sits upon the throne of His glory; 32 And before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. 33 And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 For I was hungry , and ye gave Me food {meat}; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; 36 Naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry , and fed Thee? Or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? 38 When saw we Thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. 41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 For I was hungry and ye gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; 43 was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. 44 Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee hungry , or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? 45 Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.
I learned that this yearning in my heart for such this special type of love is merely placed there by God. The eagerness to find my loving wife and to walk into love with her is part of God’s will for me.
I have also learned that this desire in my heart is not to be compared with other couples; it is unique and individualized by God and for whomever I marry.
I am not going to talk about possibilities for you but what I will share is that I believe that God has a plan for all of us; a plan he thought of and for at birth or perhaps before we were even born.
I can’t wait to hold my son or daughter with immense joy high in the air above my shoulders. I can’t wait for the laughter and giggles that we will share together. I cannot wait to see the look on my wife’s face in pure happiness in awe of a wonderful husband and father God placed into her arms. It is inspiring and hopeful to know that somewhere out there in this world, she is out there, and she is waiting for me. What good am I as a servant if I do not serve? What good am I as a child of God if I do not come out from amongst the darkness to shine my light and be bold in my faith? What service am I to others if I am ashamed to step out and do what is right from amongst the rest? What good am I as an idle rock? I sometimes wondered if perhaps my future wife is or was just as lost, confused as I once was? Could that be?
Even though the desire is immense and I longed to find her; I did hit a crossroad at some point of my journey with God whilst in tears one night laying in my bed; a powerful lesson.
“I have come to a point of willingness and acceptance to sacrifice that desire to have her in order to please you.” I surrendered my deepest desire to please him. The whole time whilst seeking on my own strength, not one time did I acknowledge, give up and say, “God, I am tired of doing things in my own strength and capacity. I am finished. I just want you to have your way.”
You see, God works in mysterious ways…
I have been able to experience God’s love in an entirely special way, and I am so eternally grateful for this. I don’t deserve it. I feel it leaves me a responsibility to share that faith with you which is why I wrote this book. I don’t want you to praise me. I don’t want you to like me. I don’t want to be an idol and I certainly don’t want to become one. This is a broken boomerang; I am sending it out and up and it goes straight into pleasing the hands that have been so uplifting in my life. It is an acknowledgment and thank you for picking me up from where I laid and bringing me to a place that I never imagined possible.
I only want to share my experiences with you brothers and sisters in hopes that you believe and that you can find comfort in knowing that God is on your side too.
He has been waiting for you.
Through my story, you can tell that this faith driven journey may be long and it could be extremely difficult; everyone’s path is different. It may even feel like it’s a never ending struggle. Your experience may even be terrifying but you can bet even when all ends may feel hopeless, he is present, and he is walking you through. I read somewhere today a quote in which I find really relevant, “perhaps the struggle is the planted seed, you just don’t perceive it as He does.”
I was once a seed.
He will lead you to his peace. He will never leave your side even when the enemy is attacking you. He will take all the dirty clothes and stains on your robes and wash them clean. He will take his royal robe and put it on your back. He will reverse all your wrongs. He will break every chain and set you free. He will always be there for you especially when you call out to him. He will set a longing in your heart for him. The more he reveals himself to you the more you will long to get closer to him. He is the greatest gift I have ever received and all I want for you is to experience that love too. Keep hold of God’s promises every step of the way because he is faithful and he keeps his Word.
God’s Assurances:
He will keep you from falling Jude 24
Judgments will be given to the saints Daniel 7:22
He leads you in paths of righteousness Psalm 23:3
He gives you victory 1 Corinthians 15:57
He who started a good work in you Philippians 1:6
will complete it
Jesus is your attorney 1 John 2:1
He gives forgiveness and cleansing from 1 John 1:9
sins daily
He forgets your sin and iniquity Hebrews 8:12
Jesus assures you and help you to be bold Hebrews 10:19
You can overcome by his blood Revelation 12:11
He offers you his righteousness Matthew 22:11
No one can take you from his hand John 10:29
If you believe on him you cannot be John 5:24
condemned
He always causes you to triumph 2 Corinthians 2:14
Jesus does the miracle working inside you Romans 8:3-4
With him everything is possible Mark 10:27
He will take your cares and worries 1 Peter 5:7
There is a saying that many say, “When you’re on the mountain top, you can see the entire valley and when you’re in the valley, you’re looking at the mountain top.”
I have shown you both landscapes in my story. I am blessed with God’s hand in my life and very thankful to have this story to share with you.
That boy you have learned about still needed to be dealt with and still isn’t perfect committing sins every day but I can stand taller now that I have my heavenly father with me. I can stand upright with my heart placed in the right hands. When I try to run on the water over the waves of the ocean and when doubt comes near his presence, he is quick to remind me that he is always there.
I used to be afraid to express my love and affection for God publicly. Can you believe that? I have watched him mold me over the last few years to be bold in sharing that love. Today I run around freely sharing that love with strangers around me. I don’t know how he did it but am I ever grateful he did.
My relationship with God is now saturating my life today and this is present all the way through from my social media, to my cell phone, to my workplace, my bedroom, my office, my favorite music, movies, book selection; everything.
You may be wondering why I wrote this book. Never did I ever imagine that I would be writing a 174 paged novel on my relationship with God.
Really? I wrote a book for God! Wow, that is actually an amazing and beautiful accomplishment.
Every time I sat down to write, new memories would rise that kept me coming back to add more and more detail. It was difficult to come to a decision when it was time to finally push the button and hit print. I am still not done with it. There is a greater picture placed in my heart to complete this project, but we are not there yet so let’s continue walking with baby steps and watch him manifest the rest through me, shall we?
“Maybe I am just a puzzle and you’re supposed to work the pieces.” Something I wrote when I was around 12 years old. I guess this saying is just fixed on the fact that we are all brothers and sisters; were broken pieces and when we work together in unification, combined as one in love, we make up the totality and completeness that God intended. So, back to the concept of puzzle pieces; let’s just say that some of my older music material, pieced together lyrics from other songwriters alike and this helped compose some really beautiful yet inspiring heartfelt songs.
As I wrap this up, I want you to know that I experienced things in my walk with God that I feel would be foolish to keep to myself. This is a true story that emphasizes and displays his goodness. I was once lost but now I am found.
To scan a QR Code, point your camera on your Andrioid, Tablet or Iphone at the QR Code.
Have you ever just wanted to run,
To run from every problem,
every disaster,
our hearts filled with joy,
laughter,
but not pride,
Thank you heavenly father,
God tells you to run faster,
run straight to his arms,
Try and listen, closelym
now,
strive to do his will,
strive,
not strife,
what would he ask you to do,
don’t look at me,
look at him,
he’s the Good Shephard,
he’s the way,
only way I am ever good,
is through Christ,
I am just a man,
ashamed,
of my sinful ways,
thats why I follow him,
Thats why I give him praise,
hes deserving of my everything,
He gave me life,
Every good thing,
comes from him,
and even when our patience grows thin,
ice,
this is life,
be patient,
Wait
on,
the,
Lord.
he.
will,
deliver,
you,
he will,
rescue you,
desires of the heart,
faith, walk straight,
listen to his words,
all day,
trust in it all,
ways,
try not to fall,
do not fear,
always,
and keep,
all the enemies away,
do not stray,
pray,
night and day,
straight,
Jesus leads the way,
pastures,
green grass,
with all these strangers,
which is the voice to listen to,
I know, it is just,
Truth,
read into it,
you’ll find him too,
let God’s word lead the way,
you’ll never go stray,
he lights the way,
to the list,
Book of Life,
to the rich,
to the poor,
he opens and closes,
the doors,
he stands at the gates,
my greatest wish,
is he lets me in,
in his own way,
one day,
it is not by works,
I know this,
grace,
formed in our mothers womb,
he who made all things True,
Jesus Christ,
My savior
from my sin,
my self,
my past,
at last,
I rest,
in his peace,
find meaning to life,
not strife,
not pride,
I give him everything,
and try not to draw the line,
one master,
and love will be,
my,
happily,
ever,
after.
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
He will quiet you with His love;
He will rejoice over you with singing.