When It Comes to Difficult Relationships, God Places Great Importance on Reconciliation

If you are having trouble getting along with a family member, you’ll find lots of support to build a boundary instead of a bridge, to protect yourself from disagreements instead of working through them. It's a sign of the selfish values promoted in modern culture.

But you won't find that support in Scripture.

Modern culture often promotes conflict avoidance, not conflict resolution. Cutting people off is easier than learning to live with them peaceably. It's easier to assume that we're mostly right and the other person is mostly wrong. 

But we can't honor God while refusing to reconcile with friends and family members because God places a priority on reconciliation: 

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24

This is similar to Paul's warning against participating in communion in an “unworthy manner” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). We can't maintain a healthy relationship with the Lord if we're unwilling to do our best to get along with others.

Scripture commands us to consider the concerns of others, return good for evil, and wholeheartedly seek peace (Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 12:3-21). When we refuse, we make our lives easier, but our hearts grow hard.

Satan wants to kill, steal from, and destroy our relationships (John 10:10). Let's refuse to let him do this. 

Please avoid Boundaries teachings. If you want to find out why, see the Bible Love Notes Are Boundaries Biblical? Collection. I also recommend 8 Narcissist Problems and The Growing Problem of Narcissism.

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June Prayer Days 2-4: Pray for relationships between Christians and gay friends and family members. Pray that Christians would be sensitive and gracious (Colossians 4:6) but unashamed of God's loving commands (Romans 1:16).

I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. It's a beautiful hardcover book that costs less than most paperbacks.

It contains 100 one-minute devotions to challenge, encourage, instruct, and inspire your love for God's Word. 

Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. And find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.

Bible Love Notes

A Wonderful Purpose for the Month of June: Will You Join Me?

Before I explain my plans for June, let's discuss what others will be celebrating:

June is Gay Pride month in the U.S., celebrating pride (dignity, respect, approval, and support) for LGBTQI+ lifestyles. 

Let's look at what Scripture says about Gay Pride:

Explaining the wrath of God, Romans 1:26-27 says, “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” 

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, we find a list of the lifestyles that send people to Hell if they don’t repent: “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” See also 1 Timothy 1:8-11. 

Jude 1:7 says the sexual immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah serves “as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” 

The Greek words used in these New Testament passages clearly describe same-gender sex as evil and soul-damaging. God forgives those who repent of it and condemns those who take pride in it. 

So I want to make June “Pray for LGBTQI+ Persons Month,” praying for the souls of those involved in these lifestyles, praying that they will repent and come to Christ. Will you join me?

 

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Please take time this month to read the articles below. They will give you a deeper understanding of how damaging and sinful LGBTQI+ lifestyles are.

Romans 1:16-32 explains why people take pride in homosexual lifestyles. See the Bible Love Notes series I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel. If you don't read the whole series, I especially recommend Did You Know that "Unnatural" Sins Are More Damaging to Our Souls?   

For additional inspiration for June's prayer, see What Scripture Says About Homosexuality. To prepare yourself to respond to false teachings which claim that Scripture approves homosexual behavior, see Responding to Gay Revisionist Theology.

 

God will judge nations, leaders, and individuals who encourage people to live lifestyles that separate them from God's grace and love, and He will judge professing Christians who remain silent or approve of these things which God disapproves of (Luke 9:26; Matthew 7:21-23).

 

From the White House Proclamation proclaiming June 2022 “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month”: “This month, we remind the LGBTQI+ community that they are loved and cherished...deserving of dignity, respect, and support.” 

 

This White House proclamation makes unsubstantiated claims that the rights of LGBTQI+ people are under “unconscionable attack,” blaming suicides on anyone who doesn't approve of their lifestyles. See Satan's Lies Are Causing Depression—Don't Blame God's Word.

 

When this document states, “We condemn the dangerous State laws and bills that target LGBTQI+ youth,” they are referring to legislation that prohibits sex-change drugs and surgeries for underage children. In truth, these surgeries are causing permanent physical and emotional damage to children who are easily misled because they lack adult reasoning skills. 

 

A month after this proclamation came out in 2022, the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and France shut down transgender clinics, determining they were not safe for children (source). This completely secular decision coming from secular governments further proves that the U.S. proclamation is propaganda that not only mocks God, science, and common sense but also brings tragic abuse to underage children. Gay Pride month has nothing to do with human rights and everything to do with the promotion of lifestyles that damage people's hearts, souls, and bodies. See Are You Duped by Satan's Propaganda Campaign?

 

This should bring Christians sadness for those caught up in LGBTQI+ lifestyles and righteous anger that God's design and God's commands are being mocked. This isn't political. It's moral. 

 

Romans 1:18-32 talks about the moral decline of mankind and it specifically mentions those who engage in homosexual behavior, ending with this serious warning: “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

Bible Love Notes

You Never Need to Feel Like a “Spiritual Orphan”!

Sometimes, especially in our current cultural climate, we can feel like “spiritual orphans” because friends or family members misunderstand or misrepresent our faith.

That's when we need to remember that our God is "a father to the fatherless" (Psalm 68:4-5). 

He offers us fatherly compassion:

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:13-14

Like a loving father, God understands our weaknesses, frustrations, and fears. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. 

Like a loving father, He “daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19):

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22  

This wonderful help with our burdens is found throughout Scripture, even in Christ’s promise in Matthew 11:28-29.

Like any loving father, God also trains us in righteousness, teaches us the right paths, and lovingly rebukes us when we’re wrong, treating us “as a father the son he delights in” (Proverbs 3:11-12).

God wants us to understand the depth of His fatherly love for us. 

So whenever you're feeling like a spiritual orphan, climb up into your Heavenly Father's arms!

For more encouragement see Those Who Suffer and 4 Truths About Suffering. Or listen to the two-minute Bible Love Notes video God Knows Us Intimately and Loves Us Deeply.

This devotion is based on some of the wonderful passages we find in the books of Psalms and Proverbs. And Wisdom for Life is also based on these Old Testament books of wisdom, comfort, encouragement, and instruction. 

Why not check it out. On Amazon, you can read the first four devotions by clicking “Look Inside.” It's a hardcover book that costs less than most paperbacks, and it's a great size to put in your purse or large coat pocket!

Bible Love Notes

Beware of Eisegesis—a Way of Using Scripture to Contradict Scripture

False teachers use a method theologians call “eisegesis.” This means they start with a belief and try to find Scriptures to fit that belief. In contrast, true teachers of God's Word use “exegesis,” which means they start with Scripture and formulate their beliefs according to what it actually teaches. 

Eisegesis teachings take random passages out of context, read something into the text that's not there, and ignore the obvious overall teachings of Scripture. 

For example:

The Hebrew Roots Movement takes verses like Romans 3:31 out of context to claim New Testament Christians must obey Old Testament dietary and ceremonial laws. But they ignore the many passages about Christ's complete fulfillment of those laws (Colossians 2:16-17; Galatians 2:19-20; Galatians 3:2-3; Galatians 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Acts 10:9-16; 1 Corinthians 8:8; Matthew 15:10-11; Mark 7:18-19). 

(See All or Nothing: Christ's Fulfillment of the Law.)

Universal Salvation teachers take verses like 1 Timothy 2:3-4 out of context to claim all people will be saved. And they completely ignore in-context passages which clearly speak of eternal punishment (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5, Romans 1:18-19, Hebrews 10:26-31, 2 Peter 2:4-10, Revelation 20:15).

(See 6 Scriptures Used to Support Universal Salvation and Hell Is Not a Garbage Dump.)

Eisegesis teachings may promote legalism such as the Hebrew Roots Movement. But they more often promote worldly values like prosperity, self-esteem, feminism, selfishness, immorality, etc.

So let's be sure that we start with Scripture and formulate our beliefs according to what it clearly teaches.

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Some examples of eisegesis:

False Teachings about Sodom and Gomorrah 

3 Bad Arguments for a Female God 

The Popular Teachings of Joel Osteen

A Well-Known Pastor Changes His View about Women Pastors

Boundaries Unscriptural Foundation

Responding to Gay Revisionist Theology

A Letter from a Reader (regarding transgenderism)

I've had several people ask if it's right to judge false teachers without first contacting them privately. That's why I wrote Should We Judge False Teachers Publicly or Privately?

 

I've also had people claim that it's not appropriate to judge anyone, especially if they are doing some good. This devotion shares what Scripture teaches about judging: How, Who, and What to Judge According to Scripture. 

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I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. You can find out where to purchase it and download two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.  

 

If you've already purchased Wisdom for Life and you're enjoying it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks!

 

 

Bible Love Notes

What Christ Meant When He Said If We Don't Forgive Someone, They Aren't Forgiven

In John 20:19-23, Jesus gives instructions to His disciples saying, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (20:23).

This doesn't mean that any human being can give or withhold God’s forgiveness—only God can do that. It means the church has a duty to tell people that they can't claim to be a believer and continue living a sinful lifestyle.

These instructions are similar to Christ's instructions about formal church discipline in Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 5.(1) 

Christians sin, but Christians cannot live a sinful lifestyle because “no one born of God will continue to sin” (1 John 3:9).

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:6

“Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” 1 John 2:4

Titus 1:16 and 1 John 1:6 explain that people who claim to have fellowship with Christ cannot continue to walk in darkness.

A professing Christian who is living a sinful lifestyle needs to be warned that if they don't repent, they are not forgiven and not saved. 

If we fail to warn them, we aren't walking in love (Ephesians 5:1-20).

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(1) Matthew 18:18 echoes the command in John 20:23 saying, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

For more on this important subject, see 4 Things That Happen When We Fail to Repent and Have Christians Forgotten How Much God Hates Sin?

I also encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. You can find out where to purchase it and download two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.  

If you've already purchased Wisdom for Life and you're enjoying it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks!

 

 Bible Love Notes

Why the Metaphor of Marriage Helps Us Understand Our Relationship with God

 

Marriage is not God’s plan for everyone, but it's a relationship that most people can understand. No wonder it's one of the metaphors God uses to describe His relationship with His people.

A husband and wife have a unique bond of closeness based on a permanent commitment that should strengthen over time, bringing increased love, understanding, joy, and happiness. 

 

It’s the first human relationship described in Scripture, and it's the basis for the human family structure.

 

Ephesians 5:24-33 explains that marriage is “a profound mystery” that helps us better understand Christ's commitment to us His people. This doesn't mean everything about human marriage applies, but it's a reflection of the commitment, oneness, protection, and joy we have in Christ.

 

Christ is a perfect “Bridegroom,” and one day we will join Him at the wedding supper that announces our eternal fellowship with our Lord (John 3:28-30; Revelation 19:9). See these full passages below.

 

All of this brings me to something I so appreciate about our God: He's a wonderful communicator. He uses metaphors, word pictures, examples, and parables to help us understand His love for us. 

 

We can't fully grasp the things of God here on earth, but He wants us to know that great things lay in store for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Peter 3:13).

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A glimpse at how this metaphor is used in Scripture

In the Old Testament when God's people followed pagan gods, the Lord would often compare them to an unfaithful wife.

Jeremiah 3:20 “But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.  

Ezekiel 16 describes Israel as an adulterous wife. And in the book of Hosea, the prophet Hosea experiences firsthand how painful it is to have a wife who treats her husband as Israel treated God. See His Love Knows No Bounds and Major Warnings in Old Testament Narratives.

We also find this metaphor throughout the New Testament. These are a few examples. 

The words of John the Baptist describe Christ as the bridegroom for the Church: 

 

John 3:28-30: “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” 

Under divine inspiration, Paul used this metaphor to warn the Corinthians of compromise and false teachings: 

 

2 Corinthians 11:2: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 

Yet, this is more than a metaphor. It is a divine mystery: 

 

Ephesians 5:24-33: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

It is a metaphor that describes our eternal relationship with the Lord:

 

Revelation 19:9: Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Bible Love Notes

Let's Walk in the Way of Love as Ephesians 5:1-16 Describes It, Not as Culture Describes It

I regularly hear people say they want LGBTQ+ friends and family members to feel accepted, not judged. 

But I never hear this comment made about other sins. Why do we treat these sexual sins differently than other sins? 

Would we want a friend who is cheating on his wife to feel accepted and not judged? What about a family member who is caught embezzling funds?

Scripture tells us that all sins are willful choices (James 1:14-15). It explains that sexual sins damage people's souls in ways other sins don't (1 Corinthians 6:18). And it describes homosexual sins as shameful, unnatural lusts (Romans 1:26-27).   

Every sin is a willful choice based on our fallen human nature  (Romans 8:7-8; Ephesians 2:1-9).

If we love God, we trust His design for sexuality and agree with His commands, knowing that they are given for our best good (John 14:15,21,23;15:10; 1 John 2:3; 5:3). 

Ephesians 5:1-16 commands us to “walk in the way of love” exposing “the fruitless deeds of darkness.” If we remain silent or approve of lifestyles that damage people's souls, we're not walking in the way of love. 

More scriptural truths about this subject:

Sexual immorality comes from our “earthly nature”:

Colossians 3:5: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

People cannot live an immoral lifestyle and be saved:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

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See Sex Outside of Marriage - What Scripture Says and Are You a Gospelphobe? 

I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. You can find out where to purchase it and download two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.  

 

If you've already purchased Wisdom for Life and you're enjoying it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks!

 

 

Bible Love Notes

Original Sin and Why We All Have a Sin Nature

Many Christians have bought into the cultural lie that people are born good and corrupted by their environment. This means people sin because they have needs that haven’t been met. 

But this popular belief is a lie, dear Christians, a lie that affects how we view ourselves, how we parent, how we counsel, and how we talk about sin in general. Instead of accepting what the Bible says, we excuse, justify, and blame-shift people’s sins onto their environment, circumstances, parenting, mistreatment, etc. And this seems to be especially prevalent when talking about LGBTQ+ sins.

But the gospel is perfectly clear: everyone is born selfish and sinful. No one has to teach us how to sin. Our environment affects us, but it never forces us to sin.

"Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:14-15

 

God created man in His image, but Adam damaged that image by his willful sins causing all of mankind after him to be born with a sin nature, a propensity to make selfish, sinful choices (Genesis 5:3). 

Before Christ, all of us “were dead in [our] transgressions and sins…gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts” (Ephesians 2:1-9; Romans 8:7-8). 

Sin always has been and always will be an intentional choice.

You might want to read Why Do We Suffer for Adam's Sin? and the short Bible study Suffering from Adam's Sin. And please read the notes below about Genesis 5:3.

 

Digging Deeper:

⮞ Why Adam is held responsible

Eve is held fully responsible for her sin, but Adam is held responsible for sin entering our world. Adam was the first created human, a representative for mankind. Romans 5:12-14 says sin entered the world “through one man.” And 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” 

 

1 Timothy 2:11-14 explains that Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam was not deceived. As the head of his family, he didn't lead Eve away from sin. He followed her into it.

 

⮞ We were and still are created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” 

⮞ But when Adam sinned, he damaged that perfect image, and all of us born after Adam have a sin nature.

Genesis 5:3: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.”

Commentaries on Genesis 5:3:

“As Adam was created in the image of God, so did he beget ‘in his own likeness, after his image;’ that is to say, he transmitted the image of God in which he was created, not in the purity in which it came direct from God, but in the form given to it by his own self-determination, modified and corrupted by sin.” Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament  

“Adam was made in the image of God; but when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail, wretched, and mortal, like himself. Not only a man like himself, consisting of body and soul, but a sinner like himself. This was the reverse of that Divine likeness in which Adam was made; having lost it, he could not convey it to his seed.” Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary 

 

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I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. You can find out where to purchase it and download two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.  

 

If you've already purchased Wisdom for Life and you're enjoying it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks!

 

 

 

 Bible Love Notes

Joyfully Singing about God's Enduring Truth

As a new Christian, I learned Psalm 100 in the KJV by singing it. It’s a wonderful Psalm, so rich with meaning: 

1𝅘𝅥𝅮Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 

Our salvation should bring us such joy that we can't help but shout and sing! 

2𝅘𝅥𝅮 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

What gladness our God brings, even in times of difficulty. This makes me think of my grandma who suffered great losses in her life. Yet her love for the Lord was present in everything she did, and you'd often hear her sweetly humming. 

3𝅘𝅥𝅮 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

There are such important truths in this verse, truths our world tries to deny: He made us, male and female, in His image. We are His design, not our own.

4𝅘𝅥𝅮 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 

Thanksgiving takes us through His gates, and praise takes us right into God’s courts. I need to remember this. I often focus on prayer requests and neglect thanksgiving and praise. 

5𝅘𝅥𝅮 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. 

God’s truths in Scripture don't change with culture. We can trust them permanently.

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Do you need some strength today? Check out Finding Strength in the Psalms. Do you need 14 reasons to be grateful? Check out Let Your Heart be Renewed in Gratitude.

The Psalms are so rich with comfort, guidance, and encouragement! 

I wrote my Wisdom for Life Devotional to share some of those rich truths. It also includes devotions from the practical wisdom of Proverbs. 

Read the story behind Wisdom for Life HERE. And find out about the two free Bible studies with purchase HERE. 

The Remnant, the Unfaithful, and the Lost

Ever since Christ's redemption, there has been a strong remnant of Christians who are passionate about the Lord, His Word, His purposes, and His commands. They have been willing to suffer for His Name, knowing that their true home is in heaven, not here on earth (Hebrews 11).

Just as Queen Esther was strategically planted in a position to save her people (Esther 4), we who make up the remnant know we were born for this difficult time in world history when God's designs for gender, sex, and pre-born life are being mocked and despised and when people who trust God's loving principles are being shamed and slandered.

Sadly, there are others who profess to know Christ who are choosing to walk away from biblical truths in favor of culture. When friends or family members choose sinful lifestyles, they first excuse them and later defend them. They are the first to say "It's not our place to judge" when someone expresses concern for the immoral behaviors embraced by culture.

They call themselves Christians, but they have more in common with the lost souls in our world, those who've never professed to know Christ, those who blindly follow culture (2 Corinthians 4:4). 

The unfaithful make it even more difficult for the remnant, but the remnant is undeterred. We've counted the cost and put on the full armor of God (Luke 14:25-33; Ephesians 6:10-20). We recognize that these hardships are part of God's plan, and we won't let them deter us from unashamedly sharing the true gospel (Romans 8:18-25; Romans 1:16).

If you are sitting on the sideline, I encourage you to join the remnant in defending the faith (2 Corinthians 10:5).

For more en-courage-ment see:

Let's Not Remain Silent

Heaven Is Our Real Home

Destroying Flood

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I also encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life Devotional. You can find out where to purchase it and download two free Bible studies with purchase HERE.  

 

If you've already purchased Wisdom for Life and you're enjoying it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks!

 

 

Bible Love Notes