June 24, 2013

  

Walk in Love: Stir up 

1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Love...believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

LOVE believes, hopes and endures 

all things, so WALK stirring one another 

up to love and good deeds.

Believes - pisteuo - to have faith, put trust in, to think to be true, to place confidence in.

Hopes - elpizo - to expect with desire, to hope, to trust in.

Endures - hupomeno - to remain under, i.e. to persevere, to bear up under.

Stir Up - paroxysmos - an inciting, to provoke in a good sense, a sharpening, used figuratively to mean, an encouragement to some action or feeling.

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.

Life is hard! 1 Corinthians 13 acknowledges this when it speaks of a love that believes, hopes and endures ALL things.  Sometimes walking in faith and trust is hard.  When our dreams, desires and expectations collide with our reality, it's often hard to have hope. When life seems like a tidal wave washing over us, it's hard to endure and persevere.  Life is just hard sometimes!  And then there is the issue of getting "stuck" - we tend to like things to be convenient, comfortable, stable and predictable.  We like to settle into a routine and change is not always welcomed.  

All of these "hard" things and "rut" things of life are the reasons we are called to walk stirring up one another to love and good deeds - to keep believing, keep trusting, keep hoping, keep enduring.  And we can!  Because...our God IS faithful.  Our God IS hope.  Our God IS eternal and His love and faithfulness endures forever!  

When we stir up one another we encourage others to take action.  We are sharpening one another. "Stirring up one another to love and good deeds" pushes us beyond our comfort zones and out of our rut-living and encourages us to keep believing, keep hoping and keep enduring!

So how do we "stir up" one another?

• Encourage them to use a gift or talent you see in them to help others and further God's kingdom.

• Take someone out for coffee and just listen to their heart or heartache.

• Invite them to participate in a ministry/mission project you are part of or to attend Bible study or small group with you.

• Pray for them in your personal time as well as with them.

• Share an aspect of God's character with them to encourage them with whatever life situation they are facing.

• Share a verse of Scripture to encourage them.

• Plan a community project with others to impact your city/community and share the love of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:8-11

He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 100:5

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. 

Is there someone you need to "stir up" today?  

   

Women's Bible Study Teacher

Visit Susan's Blog: susancady.com

June 17, 2013

Walk in Love: Bears All Things

1 Corinthians 13:7

   Love bears all things...

LOVE bears all things so WALK bearing burdens and building up.

Bears - bastazo - to take up with the hands in order to carry or bear; to uphold, to support, to give slack to.

Burdens - baros - heaviness, weight, burden, trouble.

Build Up - oikodomeo - to confirm, to edify, to promote growth.

Life hurts sometimes.  We all face times of loss, disappointment, hardship, discouragement and doubt.  

Take a look at how Paul describes his situation in his letter to the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.

Can you relate to any of these?  Burdened beyond your strength? Despair?

But if you read, on Paul gives us a proper perspective to adopt in the midst of being burdened and in times of hardship:

2 Corinthians 1:9-10

But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

We have hope! Because as painful or uncomfortable as these situations may be, they serve to teach us to rely on God.  And we read that God delivered, will deliver and will deliver us again!  That's good news! 

But what is interesting in this verse is that my idea of deliverance from something painful or difficult is different from what is promised in this verse.  The word for deliver in the original language is rhyomai,which means to draw to one's self, to rescue. I often want the deliverance to be out of or the end to a circumstance.  But God delivers by drawing me to Himself. He is my place of refuge, security, hope, peace and joy in the midst!  Because...He IS hope. He IS peace.  He IS joy.  He IS steadfast and immovable.  He IS the true source of these things in my life and they are not dependent upon my circumstances.

AND we need each other in these difficult times in our lives. Read what we are told at the beginning of 

 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

This love-walk involves bearing burdens andencouraging others as they walk through times of hardship, burden and difficulty.  In fact, the wordcomfort used in 2 Corinthians is paraklesis, which means a calling near, to encourage, console, comfort. We comfort as we come alongside to encourage through a listening ear, a word of Truth, a hug, a prayer, a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on and a heart that sympathizes instead of judges.

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

We show love by bearing with others, by coming alongside and comforting them in their time of brokenness, disappointment or hardship.

Romans 14:13

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

We show love by bearing with others who are struggling in life, with their faith or with sin.  Not to pass judgment but, in love, to point them to truth and come alongside and bear their burden.

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 

-2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (The Message)

Is there someone Christ is calling you encourage, come alongside and comfort today?  

   

Women's Bible Study Teacher

Visit Susan's Blog: susancady.com

June 10, 2013

Walk in Love: 

Teaching & Admonishing One Another

 

1 Corinthians 13:6

Love does not rejoice in wrongdoings 

but rejoices with the truth.

LOVE does not rejoice in wrongdoing 

but with the truth so WALK 

teaching and admonishing one another.

Wrongdoing - adikia - unrighteousness of heart and life; what is not conformable with justice, that which is wrong.

Truth - aletheia - truth, reality, purity from all error or falsehood; love of truth in words and conduct, sincerity of heart.

I like order. I like rules. I like to stick to the rules, and I like it when others follow the rules too.  I have a tendency to be a "line drawer".  I grew up with three sisters.  I am the oldest and naturally the bossy one.  As a military family we moved around ALOT!  Most of the time I was blessed (and thankful) to have my own room.  It worked best given my tendency to like things in order, neat, clean, everything in its place. It was not a desire my sisters all shared with the same conviction. During one duty station my sister, Patty, and I had to share a room.  She was not as concerned about the order of the room.  One day, in extreme frustration with the mess, I was going to teach her a lesson (for her own good, of course). This wrong needed to be righted! I drew the line!  Literally.  I found the duct tape and put a strip down the center of the room threatening that anything that crossed that line was going in the trash!  I felt so good about my decision. Smug. I was going to teach Patty to be a neat, organized person and to follow my rules for the room.  Patty readily agreed to this new rule.  I was shocked!  As she walked out of the room, she pointed out that the door was on her side of the "line".  She confidently stated that I was stuck in my "perfect" room. 

Many times our desire to rejoice in truth and encourage others to do the same can take a turn for the worse.  Our desire to instruct and encourage can quickly turn into an attitude of being the overbearing "rule keeper".  It can get us in trouble in our relationships.  But this is not the love-walk the Lord calls us to follow.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Teach - didasko - to impart instruction, to explain or expound on a thing.

Admonish - noutheteo - to put in mind, to warn, to caution or reprove gently.

When the word didaskois used in conjunction withnoutheteo it means to set the mind right.  Inherent in the word didasko is the intent to influence the understanding of the person who is taught.

The verses preceding the command to teach and admonish are important.  They include some of the "one another" commands we have already examined - bear with one another, forgive one another and love one another. 

When we teach and admonish, we need to do so with the mindset of bearing with, forgiving and loving that person.

We also see an important element in teaching and admonishing in verses 15 and 16.  Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts...let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.  In order to instruct and influence in truth, we must know truth and we must be surrendered to Christ rule in our hearts.

Christ's rule in our hearts and Christ's Word in our minds is foundational for teaching and admonishing.

"Admonition is the mutuality command we obey least often, and when we attempt to obey it, we usually do the worst job.  We would rather keep the peace than deal with a strained relationship, hurt feelings, a misunderstanding or anger."

-Gerald Sittser, Love One Another

Did you notice what we are to "put on" in Colossians 3:12?  Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience -a list that is impossible for me to exhibit apart from Christ's work in my own heart and life.  There is no room for arrogance, pride or self-righteousness. Our part is to share truth and allow the Holy Spirit to work in the life and heart.  We are to instruct and admonish in love. 

Our goal is to lovingly point them to Christ and His truth and leave the job of conviction and change to the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

When shared in love, God's Word is powerful to expose, transform and heal a heart and life.

When we admonish, here are some guidelines we can follow:

• Listen
• Sympathize and affirm
• Ask: Is this something that is preventing Christian growth or encouraging them to wander from Christ?

Is there someone Christ is calling you to share truth in love with today?  Be bold, be prayerful, be filled with His Spirit and walk in love!

   

Women's Bible Study Teacher 

Visit Susan's Blog: susancady.com

June 3, 2013

The Walk of Love through the Way of Love

 

We continue our comparison of the famous LOVE passage in 1 Corinthians 13 with the ONE ANOTHERS found in Scripture as we discover how the way of love helps us to walk in love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.

LOVE is not irritable or resentful so 

WALK being kind and forgiving.

irritable- paroxyno - to easily provoke, irritate, arouse to anger, or to exasperate.

resentful- logizomai and kakos - to put together with one's mind, to count, to occupy oneself with calculations; bad or worthless, wicked, vicious in heart, conduct and character; to be hurtful or harmful. Resentful is actually two words translating "think no evil". 

Since love is not resentful, it means it does not count up wrongdoings. Instead we see in Ephesians that we are to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving toward one another.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgivingone another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Kind - chrestos - to furnish what is needed, good, gentle, and useful toward others.

Tenderhearted - eusplagchnos - compassionate, sympathetic, full of compassion for the ills of others.

Forgive- charizomai - to grant forgiveness, graciously to restore one to another.       

When I walk irritable and resentful withunforgiveness in my heart and nursing a grudge or hurt, I am easily provoked to anger by almost anything.  I am easily exasperated.  I tend to occupy myself with rehearsing the hurt and being resentful and counting the ways I'd like to exact revenge.  But God calls me to this love-walk that is about being kind and forgiving.  Let's clear up a few things about forgiveness.

           

Forgiveness does not:*

• Release offenders from need to take personal responsibility
• Absolve offenders from guilt
• Deliver offender from consequences of actions
• Erase the past

Forgiveness:*

• Releases offender from the consequences of their behavior as it affects us.
• Takes time.  We begin the process by admitting our hurt, feeling the pain and voicing the outrage.
• Is an act of mercy and grace. 

"Forgiveness is like the growth of a tree that envelops a wound in the trunk, so that what once threatened the tree's life becomes its place of greatest strength."

-*Gerald Sittser, Love One Another: Becoming the Church Jesus Longs For

Forgiveness frees me from the "yuck" of irritability and resentment and bitterness that takes root in my heart when I choose to hold onto an offense.  There is freedom, joy and contentment in forgiveness.  And I have to remind myself...I have been forgiven MUCH by the grace and mercy of God.

I think the Word speaks for itself this week:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

This love-walk is always about the overflow of my love relationship with Christ.  He accepts me as I am and yet He changes me completely for my good and His glory! And in this I find freedom, joy and contentment.

   
Women's Bible Study Teacher

May 27, 2013

The Walk of Love through the Way of Love

 

We continue our comparison of the famous LOVE passage in 1 Corinthians 13 with the ONE ANOTHERS found in Scripture as we discover how the way of love helps us to walk in love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way;

LOVE does not insist on its own way so WALK caring, serving and showing hospitality to one another.

Seek- zeteo - to require, to demand, to crave, to demand something from someone.

Seeking, craving and demanding my own way is not hard!  If you are like me, I find being a creature of comfort and convenience quite natural and easy. I like things to fit my routine, my plans, my schedule, my needs and my expectations.  But walking in love removes the "my" because the focus is Christ!  This love-walk is the overflow of my love relationship with Christ Jesus and that enables me to serve and show hospitality to others instead of seeking "my way". But what does it mean to serve, show hospitality and welcome others?

1 Peter 4:8-10

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God 's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Romans 15:5-7

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Hospitality - philoxenos - hospitable, loving strangers, a friend of, or kind to strangers.

Serve - diakoneo - to be an attendant, to wait upon; to provide take care of, distribute, the things necessary to sustain life; to take care of the poor and the sick, to attend to anything, that may serve another's interests

Welcome - proslambano - to take as one's companion, to take by the hand to lead, to take into one's heart, to take into friendship, to receive into one's home. 

We serve, welcome and show hospitality by acknowledging people, by commending accomplishments and by expressing affection and gratitude for others. 

To serve, welcome and show hospitality requires us to embrace people as they are, whether strong or weak, right or wrong. It is not something we practice only when we "feel" like it or extend only to those who are easy to love and serve.  It requires that we serve with a love beyond our natural abilities.  It requires a complete dependence upon the Lord as His Spirit expresses love through us.  We just become the vessels of His love.

"One measure of our love is our willingness to care for people who aren't very attractive to us: the whining, griping, passive, angry, and annoying people we try to avoid."  -Julie Clinton, Becoming a Woman of Extraordinary Faith

Is God calling you to welcome or serve someone outside your comfort zone?

Welcoming, serving and showing hospitality is also accomplished as we use our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ and further God's kingdom. 

Do you know what your spiritual gift is?  Are you using it to serve others? 

If you'd like to discover your spiritual gift, here is an online assessment you can complete. I know personally, I find great joy and contentment when I am using my spiritual gifts to welcome and serve others. 

To serve, welcome and show hospitality to one another in the body of Christ is to commit our resources, time, money, energy and expertise to meet the practical needs of fellow believers and those in need around us. 

Who can you welcome, show hospitality or serve today?

    

 Women's Bible Study Teacher

May 20, 2013

The Walk of Love through the Way of Love

 

We continue our comparison of the famous LOVE passage in 1 Corinthians 13 with the ONE ANOTHERS found in Scripture as we discover how the way of love helps us to walk in love.

LOVE does not envy or boast and is not arrogant or rude so WALK showing honor and preferring one another.

Envy is the word zeloo meaning to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred or anger.

Boastful is the word perpereuomai meaning to boast one's self; extolling one's self excessively, a braggart.

Arrogant is the word physioo meaning to puff up, swell up, to inflate.

Rude is the word aschemoneo meaning to behave in an ugly, indecent matter; to act unbecomingly.

I can relate to them all at one time or another in my life! 

But Romans 12:9-11instructs us to walk loving one another with brotherly love and to outdo one another in showing honor.

When we show honor it means we let others know we value and esteem them.  It is the idea of showing deference or reverence to someone. 

Outdo does not mean we seek to "one up" others but rather in the original language it is a word that meansto prefer. It means to go before and lead the way by example and to show mutual respect.

In Philippians 2:3-5 we are given a great example of showing honor and preferring one another. 

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.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is 

yours in Christ Jesus.

What follows in Philippians 2:5-11 is a description of the mindset or attitude of Christ we are to imitate.  It includes the ideas of humility, servanthood and being willing to give of ourselves for others.  Envy, boasting, arrogance and rudeness are not any part of this description of the mind of Christ!

It is not hard for me to look to my own interests on a daily basis.  My flesh makes that easy and natural.  And the world tells us we are entitled and to look out for number one.  But that runs contrary to the Word of God and the heart of God.  Showing honor and preferring others requires a change in my natural tendencies and to the voice of the world.  If we look back to the beginning of Romans 12 we find the answer to overcoming our flesh:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the 

mercies of God, to present your bodies as a 

living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you 

may discern what is the will of God, what is 

good and acceptable and perfect.

In order to change my thinking, I need to renew my mind.  This is done as I get into the Word of God.  His Word and His Spirit change me from the inside out.  It's like a daily detox to the patterns of worldly thinking and behaving that I find myself immersed in every day.

"You can give up the need to compete in the world, when you accept being complete in Christ."   -Ann Voskamp

Further in Romans 12:16 we are told to live in harmony with one another and not to be haughty or wise in our own sight. 

The Lexham English Bible translates Romans 12:16 this way:

Think the same things toward one another; do not think arrogantly, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own sight. (LEB)

As the body of Christ we are to have the same mind. We are to be one. Romans 15:5-6 gives us the purpose for being of one mind.

Now may the God of patient endurance and of encouragement grant you to be in agreement with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that with one mind you may glorify with one mouth the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

With one mind and one mouth glorifying the Father-not boasting in ourselves or our accomplishments- but glorifying Him in all things! 

What would the watching world think if they observed us leading the way by example as we showed honor and preference to one another, looking to the interests of others instead of our own?  It's worth finding out!

    
Women' Bible Study Teacher

May 13, 2013

The Walk of Love through the Way of Love

 

This walk of love and loving one another life is made practical in Scripture through what we call the "one another" passages.

I would like to take the next few weeks and compare the famous LOVE passage in 1 Corinthians 13 with the ONE ANOTHERS we find throughout Scripture.  As I studied these I discovered that 1 Corinthians gives us the definition, the way of love and it corresponds with the action, the walk of love, as we respond to others and walk in love imitating Jesus. 

Take a moment to read through 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

LOVE is patient and kind so WALK bearing with one another.

Love is patient and kind; 1 Corinthians 13:4a

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Ephesians 4:1-3

Patient is the word makrothumia, meaning self-restraint before proceeding to action. Quality of one able to avenge himself/herself yet refrains from doing so; it involves exercising understanding and patience towards others.

Kind is the word chresteuomai, meaning to show oneself useful, to show one's self mind, to use kindness, willing to help.

Bear with is the word anecho, meaning to hold up or keep back from falling, to bear patiently and is spoken of having patience with the errors of weaknesses of others.  It implies the idea of giving another person/believer room to grow in their faith and their walk.

When I am impatient my words and actions tend to be rushed and rude.  When I walk with an attitude of bearing with my words and actions tend to be patient and kind.  Patience enables us to give people room to outgrow and overcome their immaturity.

This idea of bearing with does not suggest that we are to become doormats or allow an abuse using patience and kindness as a tool to enable.  There are situations and times when we need to confront and speak truth in love.  But I find that most of my daily interactions and moments of impatience and unkindness simply require I bear with another.

I have found that bearing with one another requires that I simply PAUSE and BREATHE!  Pausing to remind myself that I too am the recipient of patience and kindness.  First and foremost, the patience and kindness of the Lord who is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 103:8). But I also have benefited and grown through the patience and kindness of other believers who have extended grace and love to me, pointing me to Christ and a giving me an example to follow as I mature in my walk.  Breathing to exhale that impatient spirit and refocus my attitude and actions so that I might imitate Christ and walk in love.

Who do you need to bear with today?

Ask the Lord to give you the strength to walk patient and kind toward others bearing with their faults, weaknesses or immaturity as you point them to Christ Jesus.

    
Women's Bible Study Teacher

May 6, 2013

The Love-Walk: Responding Like Jesus

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

Ephesians 5:1-2

Our lesson from last week: 

Remember! You are beloved of the Father.

We are to REMEMBER so that we might RESPONDlike Jesus - to love as Christ loved us, giving Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This love-walk is not always an easy path. 

How do I respond when:

• I am confronted with disappointment?
• I am the recipient of a discouraging word or hurtful response from someone?
• I am overwhelmed with today's tasks and responsibilities?
• I am frustrated with a relationship or circumstance?
• I am dealing with that one who is immature or inconsiderate?
• I'm inconvenienced?

But we read that Christ, in love, gave himself up for us.  He sacrificed.

The love spoken of in this verse is the word agape in the original language. It means affection, love, good will. With reference to God's love, it is God's willful direction toward man. It involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. It is spoken more especially of good will toward others, the love of our neighbor, brotherly affection, which the Lord Jesus commands and inspires.

With this definition in mind, we learn that imitating-mimicking-the love of the Father and of Jesus will involve us doing what is best and not always what we desire or what we "feel" like doing at the moment.  This does not come natural to most of us.  I know it doesn't for me.  I like things comfortable, convenient-you know-MY way.  

But this love-walk requires a change in my natural tendencies which lean toward self-centeredness and self-protection.

"Christ wants us to face reality as it is, including all the fears, hurts, resentments, and self-protective motives we work hard to keep out of sight, and to emerge as changed people. Not pretenders. Not perfect. But more able to deeply love because we're more aware of His love."  

~ Larry Crabb, Inside Out

• I need a change in the way I think.  Ephesians 4:22-25

... to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

• I need a RENEWAL.  How do we renew our thinking?  Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

RENEWAL, the original word is anakainosis - a renovation, a complete change for the better. This renewing of my mind transforms my behavior.  I am transformed in my attitudes and actions towards others.

Where do we renew our minds?

Hebrews 4:12 gives us the answer:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Time spent in the living and active Word of God that pierces through my selfish thoughts and attitudes.  It shows me where my thinking is contrary to the heart of God.  It changes me completely, for the better!

This love-walk of imitating Jesus - giving and sacrificing - begins with a relationship. REMEMBERwe are the beloved of the Father, restored to a right relationship with the Father through Christ Jesus.  It grows as we RENEW our minds in the Word of God, so that we can RESPOND like Jesus.

Begin today! Get in God's Word, and He will change your reactions and your relationships. Next week we will explore some of the practical, love-walk ways of loving one another.

Women's Bible Study Teacher