Love Does NOT Rejoice in Evil...

So, I had an experience that was quite uncharacteristic of me at the beginning of this year. Basically, I was disobeying my parents because I thought that "love" was more important than parental authority. ((WRONG)) If you know the full story, good for you. But if you don't, it's not hard to fill in the blanks.

First of all, I was disobeying my parents. ((Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3)), meaning I was also disobeying God((Titus 1:16, 3:3)). Now, I know how strict my parents are and I knew full-well the consequences if I were to get caught. So I was also LYING((Psalms 119:29, 120:2; Proverbs 12:19, 22)). It wasn't just ONE lie, it was a bunch...making me a LIAR((1 John 2:4; Jeremiah 50:36a)). I was also causing someone else to stumble((Mark 9:42)). Ouch.

My parents said that if I hadn't lied about what I was doing, I would've been allowed to date the guy. So basically, if I had done the right thing, I wouldn't have been grounded for a month. (By "grounded", I mean, "G-R-O-U-N-D-E-D". No friends. No computer. No cell phone. No iPod. Eventually, no journaling, and no ROOM--because I KEPT messing up. All because I thought my parents were "MURDERERS OF LOVE!!" [for Caleb. ;)]) What I failed to realize is that if I was REALLY "in love" with the dude, my parents wouldn't have been opposed to it...I CERTAINLY wouldn't have lied to everyone about it...and more importantly, we would still be "in love" five months later((see next few blogs)).

Now what was the point of that? Exactly what I just said. During that whole time, I had to convince myself that I was happy. Guys, it was TIRING. Every time I opened my mouth, I had to make sure that I was being consistent with my other lies. Needless to say, I was NOT in love. (See previous paragraph if you missed those reasons).

Now, that example was pretty good, but it works with other relationships too. When you love someone, you're not gonna be happy with them if you're they're doing something wrong. We always hear that if you love someone, you're willing to do anything for them. That's true. "Anything" includes letting them know they're wrong. That reciprocates. If you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing, if they love you, they'll tell you.

That's how it works. If you love someone, you generally don't let them mess up their lives. Go figure.

Love Does NOT Hold a Grudge

Alrighty, kiddos. Personally, this is one of the toughest ones for me. It is seriously hard to forgive people when they've hurt you.

grudge: a feeling of ill will or resentment.

Let's talk about Jonah. His story is found in, GUESS. The book of Jonah! (Go figure.) So, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh because he was a prophet. Instead, he goes to Joppa and tries to sail to Tarshish. While on the sea, a huge storm comes, and the sailors start casting lots((Jonah 1:7)). They find out that it was Jonah's doing, and he tells them to toss him overboard((Jonah 1:12)). The storm stops immediately, and he's swallowed by a big fish((Jonah 1:17)). He prays from inside the fish for forgiveness and the fish spits him out((Jonah 2)).

Why didn't Jonah just GO to Nineveh in the first place?? I mean, seriously. God TOLD him to, and he ran away. In the Veggie Tales movie "Jonah", then it showed Jonah as being scared of the Ninevites because they slapped each other with fish. That WOULD be pretty scary, but I imagine what the Ninevites were actually doing was much worse. In Jonah 1:2, it says that their wickedness had risen up before God and God was going to destroy the city.

The thing is: Jonah didn't care. He WANTED them to be punished for their disobedience. That's why he was all wimpy and ran away. He didn't want to warn them. Then, after he got swallowed by a fish and thrown up again, he held a grudge against God! That's never a good idea. After he prophesied to Nineveh, he sat and waited for God to judge them. God provided shade, and then He took it away((Jonah 4:6-7)). (I must say, "haha, Jonah." I mean...really.)

Another look at holding a grudge was Herodias and John the Baptist. Herodias was mad because John kept telling Herod that it was illegal for him to be married to her. Herodias' daughter did a dance for Herod, and in turn he said that she could have up to half of his kingdom. She asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter(mommy's orders). All because John told Herod that it was illegal for him to be married to Herodias. ((Matthew 14:1-11))

So there are two different Biblical examples of how holding grudges is a bad thing. I don't think that God is going to give you the desire to behead someone or put you in the belly of a fish, but it can really mess up relationships with people. Yeah, they shouldn't have screwed up. The right thing to do is forgive them and MOVE ON. Seriously. God forgave you. He doesn't hold the time you lied, or stole or cheated against you. So, we need to be able to extend the same courtesy to others. No, "forgiving" does not mean "trusting". (ie. Just because you forgive someone does not mean that you have to trust them immediately again. You just need to love them above yourself, and let God do the rest.)

Remember my intermission?? When we don't forgive people and move on, we're not giving them a chance to forgive themselves either. When GOD has forgiven someone, then we need to make the effort. It's not easy, and Jesus never said it would be. He just said that we needed to love people.

I thought this was really neat. I taught a Sunday School class full of 8-year-olds on Sunday morning(go figure....). They did this program called "Kidmo", and it's a video that just plays for the entire Sunday School hour(supposedly). Anyway, it didn't, and we(My neighbor and I) asked them what they wanted to do. SURPRISINGLY, a little girl named Shannon says, "Can we just talk about Jesus?".

Pause. Rewind. Playback.

SHE'S EIGHT!!!!! That was SO cool. If you'd ever been to that church, then you'd know that they aren't really getting their spiritual fill; even for little kids. Their memory verse was Luke 6:32. (They learned motions and everything!!)

"If you love someone who loves you, what kind of good does that do? Even bad people love those who love them."

I think that's pretty applicable here. If you can forgive someone who forgives you, what kind of testimony is that?? Even non-Christians can forgive people who forgive them! When you forgive people who are HARD to forgive, THAT is when you're showing the love of Jesus to them. It's no good for you to do what everyone else does. Shake up the earth and show people that you're DIFFERENT. Stop trying to blend in, because that's not gonna change anything.

((James 1:22)) "And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself."

Yep, called you out. I'm sitting here, pouring out my heart and soul for you guys, but I want to see ACTION. I'm not just pulling stuff out of the air, here. This is stuff that I'm actually having to apply to my life too. I want you guys to call me out if you see me being a spiritual couch potato. I want you guys to call me out if I'm saying something you disagree with, or that is Biblically incorrect. PLEASE guys. I need your input. If I don't have active readers, then I get a bit discouraged, and it's hard for me to put myself out there if people aren't reading. So COMMENT times a million! It will be greatly appreciated. Ü

An Intermission

I know I dedicated the month of July to "Love Lessons", but God has been laying this blog on my heart for awhile, and I'm finally releasing my stubbornness and just writing it. Here's a list of things I've learned (and relearned) my Freshman year of High School...Hopefully it doesn't sound too cliche.

Most importantly...God is faithful. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's true. I wish I could explain to you how I've come to relearn this this past year, but I can't. Hopefully I've given you enough reason to trust me, but more importantly I hope that my words and actions have inspired to you become closer to God. The LAST thing that I want to do is drive you away from Him or distract you from Him. If I do, I fully expect you to tell me. If I've built you up in Him, just remember that it's not my doing. All of these blogs have been His words through me. All of my "revelations" have been from Him, and that's the end of it. The thing is...I don't WANT the recognition or praise because it's not mine to take in the first place. I'm not doing anything but relaying a message, so the praise is HIS. Not mine. End of subject.

On FORGIVENESS, God is faithful to forgive you when you ask. "For a CLEAN feeling! No matter what!" (I'm thinking the Orbitz lady knows what she's talking about...) The problem is we don't forgive others and we don't forgive ourselves. We tend to hold grudges(more tomorrow) against other people but they grudges we hold against ourselves are worse. Learning how to forgive others and yourself is a hard lesson to learn, but it shouldn't be. Most of the time forgiving others is easier than forgiving yourself because of guilt. The important thing to remember is that God has forgiven you and cast your sin as far as the east is from the west never to be seen again...so STOP BRINGING IT UP!! when we don't forgive others, we're not giving them a chance to forgive themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

On PROMISES. Don't make promises that you can't keep. Yep, it's Biblical. God kept every single promise He's ever made, and we're expected to do that. Yes, we're human. We're not going to be able to keep all of those promises. It's more logical to just not make the promise in the first place. It doesn't make it easier, it just makes it right.

On FRIENDSHIP. True, real friendship is totally irreplaceable...you shouldn't even have the opportunity to replace it. The term "best friend" is a term that people overuse. It's putting your friends on a scale, and it's not fair to them. They're gifts from God, and God didn't mean for you to put them on scale. Yes, you will be closer to some people. That's also a gift from God. Scales are never ever a good idea(ie. pretty scales, friend scales, "love" scales). They're not fair OR Biblical and they just end up hurting people. So, that should be enough incentive for you not to do it. Always remember that crushes are going to come and go, but your friends will always be there. So don't ditch your friends for a guy/girl. Seriously. It's not worth ruining friendships.

On HAPPINESS. You can't depend on anyone but God for your happiness. When you depend on anyone else, they let you down, and you blame them even though it's your own fault. People can't give you eternal joy--that's God's job. ((Short, I know...but incredibly true.))

On LETTING GO. Letting go isn't ever easy. Especially when you think you're right. After you've thoroughly screwed up your life, relationship with Christ and several friendships you finally realize that you were wrong(Thank God). That doesn't make it easier to let go. We always hear that sin is fun for a season, and that's true. And then you look back and think, "My GOODNESS. I'm SO STUPID." And THEN you realize how many people you neglected and hurt...including God--and that's the worst part. Knowing that you let God down. ((check out the forgiveness part. Again. It doesn't make it easier. Just right.)) Then, once you let God forgive you, and you forgive yourself, you realize that it's best for everyone. There's a song called, "If You Wanted a Song Written About You, All You Had to Do Was Ask" by Mayday Parade. In one part of the song then it says, "Even broken hearts may have their doubts". Very true...but, check out Jeremiah 17:9-10. A better example is "Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."(("All at Once"-The Fray)). That's the case a lot of the time.

On FAMILY. No matter what, your family is your family. You're placed there for a reason. Even when they annoy you. Even when you THINK they're wrong. Even when they ARE wrong. They're still your family, and you're still a part of them. I know that not everyone has the best family situation. I know that. But they're still your family, even when it doesn't feel like it. Trust God, because He can be trusted. That's all I can say.

On GROWING UP(or trying to). Contrary to popular belief, growing up is NOT doing whatever you want. It means being mature enough to accept and follow through with God's will, disregarding what you want, and making His will what you want.

On PRAYER. Telling someone that you'll pray for them is not an excuse not to listen to their problems. God wants you to care about other people. Praying for them IS good, but sometimes, all people need is for you to LISTEN and CARE.

Hopefully, you guys took this to heart. These lessons were not EASY to learn. They weren't easy to share, either. It brought up a lot of stuff that I didn't want to think about. Looking back, it was worth it. God often works through you in hard situations. You just have to keep your eyes on Him, and let Him.

Life is not easy. We weren't promised that it was going to be easy. But, Someone loves you. Even when you don't think so. Don't you know? You've got me and Jesus. By your side, through the fight, you will never be alone on your own. You've got me and Jesus. (("Me and Jesus"-Stellar Kart)) It's true. You HAVE got me and Jesus. I promise you that, dear reader.

Love is NOT Easily Angered

So, it sounds a lot like patience...but, alas...it's not.

anger: a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence.

belligerence: a warlike or aggressively hostile nature; the act of carrying on war; warfare.

Uh, yeah. That's right. Anger is like carrying on warfare. This surprised me too. O_O

My little brother used to have an AWFUL anger problem as a kiddie. I mean, when he got upset...he got UPSET. Not only was his temper huge, but it wasn't even big stuff that he got angry about. It could be anything from having to use the tee in T-ball practice to having to eat vegetables. He was incredibly easily angered. He's gotten WAYYYYY better. Being even-tempered is not something that you are born with. It's something that you have to learn.

Let's look at Potiphar. Remember him? He was the Pharaoh's officer and the captain of the guard((Genesis 37:36)). Check out Genesis 39. What's happened is that Joseph(the Dreamer[Genesis 37:19]) has been sold into slavery in Egypt and ended up in Potiphar's house. Apparently, Joseph was pretty darn attractive((Genesis 39:6b)), and that's one of the reasons that this problem came about. The problem was that Potiphar's wife found Joseph attracted, and was constantly trying to seduce him((Genesis 39:7, 10)). Now, Joseph IS a guy, and I imagine that did wonders for his ego, but after awhile, it probably wore him down spiritually. He kept refusing her((Genesis 39:10b)), and she ended up framing him for rape.

Well, Potiphar was upset. In fact, his anger BURNED((Genesis 39:19b)). This wasn't a little thing. His wife was claiming to have been raped by his right hand guy. Even though he was angry...he put Joseph in the King's prison(which is better than normal prison, conditions-wise). Why? Dr. Bruson said that it was because Potiphar knew Joseph's character...and he also knew his wife.

It's not wrong to be angry. When the anger takes over and makes you want to sin or gives you a hate for someone else...that's when it becomes wrong. Jesus got angry too. Remember the story of the tax collectors in the temple?? ((Matthew 21:12-13)) Well, I'd say that that was a legitimate reason to get angry. The tax collectors had turned the "House of Prayer" into a "den of robbers".

((Matthew 5:22a)) "Whoever is angry at his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." One day, we're all going to be judged. There is a difference between "the judgment" and being judged. If you're saved, God will judge you on how you lived your life for Him(or didn't). The judgment is talking about whether you're going to Heaven or hell(and it's hell if you're not saved. Sorry. But that's the truth. John 5:24)). Being angry without a cause...being angry just to be angry...It doesn't automatically mean you're going to hell. It doesn't automatically mean you're not saved. When you ARE saved, you gain joy((Psalm 21:6)). So generally, you're not angry for no reason if you have joy.

I was talking to my friend the other day and I asked how she was. She said, "I'm okay...". My general response is "Just okay?!", but before I could say that she said, "but joyful through it all."

O_O. Read that again.

Holy cow, guys. How neat is that? I was seriously impressed that she would tell me that. I mean, really. How many of us actually ARE joyful through tough situations? On top of that...how many of us TELL other people that we're joyful? I thought that that was really cool. (She's awesome. <3)

So, in summary, it is not a sin to be angry if there is a valid reason. Our human nature is to hurt people when they make us angry, and THAT is when it becomes a sin. God wants to help with this kind of thing. Check this out: Beautiful Questions.

Love is NOT Selfish

oOo. Now, NO ONE likes this subject. Why? Because we all have this problem.

No. Shut up. You do. I'm not going on until you admit it.

selfish: characterized by manifesting concern or care only for oneself.

Yeah. I know. I'm mean because I just called you "selfish"...but so am I, so deal with it. Now that ALL of our selfishness is out there for the world to see...Let's look at someone else's...wait. What was that? You wanted to talk about YOUR selfishness(whoa....you're selfish...)?? That's what I thought.

How about the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus((Luke 16:19-31))? Now, the rich man "faired sumptuously" and "dressed in purple and fine linens"...This is Bible times. When you "faired sumptuously" in Bible times, think Ritz Carlton. Think "W" Hotels of New York. Then you see the other side of the scope: (v20-21)Lazarus. He was "covered in sores" and the dogs came and licked them. (Uh, gross.) The Rich Man wouldn't even give Lazarus his table scraps. Eventually, they both died. Lazarus went to Heaven and the Rich Man went to Hell((Note: this had nothing to do with social status. It had to do with their spiritual states)). The Rich Man wanted Lazarus to dip the TIP of his finger in water to cool his tongue. But there is a great chasm fixed between Heaven and Hell, and people cannot pass. I have no doubt that if he could've, Lazarus would've dipped his finger in water for him...Oh, how the tables have turned, right?

What about Abraham and Lot((Genesis 13:7-12))? There was a fight between their servants, so they went their separate ways. Abraham gave Lot the choice of the land, even though Abraham was older. Lot chose the plain of the Jordan, and where did he end up? In Sodom. What happened to Sodom? ((Genesis 19:24)) Yeah. That's not cool. He wanted the best land, and ended up in a city full of sinners ((Genesis 13:13)), and his brother convinced God to spare their lives.

Why is being self-seeking a bad thing? Exactly how it sounds. You're seeking yourself. Meaning(follow my train of thought, for goodness' sake!!), you're NOT seeking God. Remember the lesson on pride?? When you're so focused on YOURSELF in a situation, then you can't see what God is doing through you. Cuz, guess what, kid. God does NOT need you(remember the rocks?). The thing is He WANTS to use you. It's an HONOR to be used by God. Another thing that Rev. Eppling said that stood out to me was that you have to be clean spiritually to be used by God. It's like a surgeon before he performs an operation. Why does he wash his hands? Because if he doesn't, he would be doing more harm than good. (See? Sermons are applicable!!!)

Psssssst. This doesn't mean it's wrong to want nice things, have nice things, or wanting to look nice. It just means that when that stuff starts becoming more important than God...you're being selfish. There's a point in your life when you have to stop staring in the mirror and asking "Who's the fairest of them all?" and start caring about other people.

If any of you went on the '07 8th Grade Missions Trip to ATL(Group 3 ruled, by the way)...I guarantee that anyone who was even REMOTELY selfish at the beginning of that trip learned otherwise by the end of the week. I can tell you this: those guys are THE sweetest guys you will meet in your entire life. Every morning they got up at LEAST an hour earlier to pack up everyone's luggage. We were staying at the YMCA, and had to be packed and out of the children's rooms by 7:30am, if I remember correctly. That means, they were getting up around 5:30am, and packing a closet with 100ish suitcases. Every day. For 6 days. In turn, we'd try and get packed as fast as we could so they could eat breakfast. Some of us even SERVED breakfast. What would've happened if the guys had decided not to obey orders? Well, the girls would all think they were selfish jerks. What would've happened if the girls had refused to clean,serve, or set up breakfast? The guys probably would've thought that we were being selfish airheads. It was a two-way street. We didn't EXPECT them to put our luggage away. They didn't EXPECT us to serve them breakfast. They put our needs above their own, and we did the same.

Here's the thing: If you're not willing to sacrifice for other people, don't expect other people to sacrifice for you.

Love is NOT Rude

This is the common sense one. ((Matthew 7:12)) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We've learned this since Kindergarten. Since before we even knew it was a Bible verse, right?

Rude:impolite, unmannered, rough, harsh, ungentle; without culture, learning or manners.

Yeah. Do you know anyone who's rude? I really didn't think that I did until we started venturing to Kentucky. Seriously. People can be extremely, EXTREMELY...well, rude. People are not born with manners, and I'm blessed enough to have good morals and NOT be rude to people.

How do you approach people who are rude? Personally, I avoid them like the plague, and only talk to them when absolutely necessary. And, I must confess, that that is not Christlike. A cliche in our church is "You're not gonna be best friends with everyone".

True. That.

The high school workers are not stupid. They know about the cliques(off-topic....). The point is, you're NOT going to be best friends with everyone...but that's not an excuse to be rude to them. There's no excuse for not acknowledging them either, because that makes you rude. If they are rude to the point where you absolutely CANNOT be around them, then you need to confront them. This is how: Matthew 18:15-17.

I asked my mom how I was going to get a whole "love lesson" out of a common sense principle. She proceeded to remind me about my siblings. (Stop laughing.) Why is it so hard to be nice to your siblings? I mean seriously. Oh, yeah. Because they're ANNOYING. Guess what? It doesn't matter.

Let me repeat that.

IT. DOES. NOT. MATTER. Who cares if your siblings are annoying? I'm thinking that Jesus was annoyed with the people who BEAT Him and put Him on a cross, considering WE did all the crap that put Him there((Matthew 27)). He put up with it...why? Because He LOVES us((John 3:16)). Forever. Before we were born. No matter what we will do, are doing, have done((1 John 3:16)).

So back to why it's hard, since THAT isn't enough of an incentive to be nice. Right now, I'm staying at my grandparents' house in Kentucky. We have 6 people in the house with ONE bathroom. Guess what? I asked God to help me with the whole love thing. And He has an awesome sense of humor. But really, it is a GREAT way to be able to practice everything that I've been "preaching" for the past 2 weeks. Wanna see my new definitions? (Sure you do.)

patience: 6 people. One bathroom. On top of all of the normal sibling stuff.

kindness: getting up at 7am to help with breakfast.

jealousy: who gets the better bed?

boastfulness: not bragging about getting the better bed.

rudeness: being on your best behavior for four days because you're staying with your grandparents.

So, me and my best-EST friend use to do scenarios. This is how that works: I give you a scenario, you create a response. Let's say that I am using my iPod and you want to use it. What are you going to do?
You say: "snatch". *buzzer* WRONG. I'm not gonna give it to you. Why? Cuz you're being rude.
You say: "give it to me". *buzzer* WRONG. Mind your P's and Q's, kid.
You say: "Rina, my gorgeous, darling, eldest sister, may I have the honor of borrowing your iPod?"*buzzer* Though this answer is preferable, you're feeding my pride, and that's no good either. ((I know. I AM gorgeous and darling. But still.))
You say: "Rina, may I please use your iPod?" *DINGDINGDING*!! Here ya go. *bestows iPod upon thyself.*

That is not to say that you should only be nice to people because you want stuff. Though...it is the smart way to get what you want. People tend to respond to polite behavior rather than nasty attitude. It's a fact of life.

Pride Part 2 (with a little side of boasting)

So, yesterday I talked about how being too prideful can hurt a relationship rather than help it in the context of dating/marital relationships, but pride can also ruin other relationships. Let's use an example from my own life(no, nosy. It's not gossip. I'm not using any names.)


When I was little, one of my best friends was also a part of a clique. We hung out a lot, but she kept our friendship separate from her clique. I tried to hang out with them, but they just didn't ever accept me into their "group". Eventually, she told me that she didn't want to be friends anymore, while her entire clique sat and watched, laughing. It was pretty embarrassing and to this day, I don't know why I couldn't be friends with her. If I were to guess, it would probably be because I wasn't "good enough" for their little group...stemming from...yeah. Pride. We're all friendly now, and I don't hold a grudge(later blog). It was all stupid little kid stuff, but it didn't seem stupid at the time...but it's a good example of pride.

I ws browsing the Christian nonfiction section, and that's when I discovered Justin Lookadoo (remember him?). I read an interesting sentence: "Relationships cannot glorify God. Only the people in them can." Now, immediately, red flags went up in my brain. I've always been taught about having godly relationships with people(*rings bell in your mind*). Did you catch that? We're to have godly relationships. Your relationships (no, not just dating) are gifts from God. Whether it be with your parents, siblings, best-EST friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, WHATEVER--if you are in God's Will, it is a gift from Him. You don't NEED to be in a relationship to glorify God, but it IS possible to be in a relationship where both parties are glorifying God.

Check out Esther 6:6-11. The King asked Haman what he should do to honor someone higher than himself. Haman gave out all of these extraordinary ideas, and that was all true...but the thing was that Haman thought the King was talking about honoring him. When he had to lead Mordecai around on horseback in all of the King's finest, don't you think that it was more than a little bit humbling. After that, Haman ended up killing himself on the gallows that he'd built for Mordecai.

The moral of the story: When you're too proud to realize that YOU are NOT the gift...something is wrong.

On another note

I'm on my way to Kentucky....Please pray for me for the next 5 days!! I will still be blogging....for now, read "Love is NOT Proud"--directly located under this.

Feel free to email me while I'm gone: rinachampagne@gmail.com

<3
Rina

Love is NOT Proud

Last night, God blessed me by making the sermon in Refuge about love, and the second point was mostly about pride. ((I had a pretty bad case of writer's block)).

So, love is not proud. What is pride? In some versions of verse 7, it says, "Love is not puffed up". That makes me think of a puffer fish. When it gets threatened, it puffs up and is all spikey. ANYWAY, it also reminds me of when people "get big heads" because they're...PROUD. Pride is basically thinking too much of yourself/your accomplishments.

Why is this bad? Well, pertaining to love, when you get too prideful about the relationship you're in, or what you've accomplished to make the relationship work, you're probably too blinded to see that the relationship is only "working" from your standpoint. You see the other person as this prize that you've attained yourself, rather than a blessing from God.

Check out Cain: ((Genesis 4:3-12)). What happened here? Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. They both presented a sacrifice to God, but God only regarded Abel's sacrifice. Now, before you start being "human" and saying, "Well, God. That's not fair. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. He only had vegetables to give You." Guess what? God is fair. God is just. He knows what He's doing. What did He say in verse 7? "If you do well, won't you be accepted? If you don't do well, sin lies at the door, and that's your desire and who you serve."

The thing is: neither brother was perfect. That's why they were offering sacrifices. God didn't favor Abel. ((He doesn't favor ANYONE, for that matter. Romans 2:11)). The point was, Abel's heart was in the right place. He wasn't just looking for God's approval. He was repentant, and that made His sacrifice acceptable to God. Cain's sacrifice was, not only, VEGETABLES but he wasn't repentant((review verse 7)). God called him out in his sin, and what did he do? He went out into the field and he murdered his brother. ((A perfect example of pride, jealousy, and boastfulness)).

Last night, Rev. Eppling said that when you become so focused on yourself that you can't handle constructive criticism from someone who loves you, something is wrong. Our love for others is a direct reflection of our salvation. ((I John 3:13-14))

Pride can also ruin relationships when you get SO full of yourself that you become a "player". ((definition: someone who likes to cheat on his/her significant other)) Now, this is common in dating relationships and marriage relationships, unfortunately. In marriage, it's called "adultery"((Exodus 20:14)). Dr. Brunson did a sermon on this once. When you're inattentive to your spouse, then they try to find that recognition in someone else, just to "make sure" that they're still attractive/there's nothing wrong with them. Now, two wrongs do NOT make a right, but that's what happens. You're not too good for anyone.

How do you prevent this? Humble yourself. It has to be a constant thing. It's so easy for me to be like, "Holy cow. I am SO much better than...","I definitely deserve more than...", etc. But that's not Christlike, and that's not how I'm supposed to act as a bond-servant of Christ. ((HINT: That's not how you're supposed to act either. ;) ))

Now, how to humble yourself? Ask God. Be prepared, because, trust me. Being humbled is not fun. I am constantly reminded to be humble because I manage to trip over nothing in front of large crowds of people. The thing is, I'm used to it. And the funny thing is...it's okay. At

first...yeah, it's embarrassing. Takes you off your high horse, for sure. Let's explain that in a "revelation-y" way. You're on a horse, okay? High above the rest of the earth. You think you have it good, but then the horse(the devil) bucks you off. You're on the ground. You're in pain, but holy cow. The ground is gorgeous. There are pretty flowers and stuff that you couldn't see when you were on the horse.

That's how pride is. You think that you have it all, when you really have nothing. When God brings you "down" and humbles you, you see everything He had waiting for you. So don't be stupid and think that the world revolves around you, because you've just disillusioned yourself into thinking that you're better than God. ((See blog on boasting: God/Satan))

Love Does NOT Boast

I decided to skip the second day of "jealousy" because I'm fairly certain I made my point AND today's topic happens to go with it quite well.

Boast:to speak with exaggeration; bragging.

Now, none of us like hearing people brag. It's not fun. Why? Because....we either get 1.) annoyed (ooh...PATIENCE) or 2.) jealous. So, really, when people brag, it's a temptation for us to sin. Let's look at some people who bragged in the Bible.

HAMAN(bom bom boooooooommm). Remember him? Check out Esther 3-6, or my mom's blog. In short, Haman was a "powerful prince" in the court of King Xerxes. He was all high and mighty, until one day this Jew named Mordecai refused to bow down to him (ego, much?). So he decided that he wanted to kill ALL of the Jews, just cuz Mordecai did the right thing and refused to bow to anyone but God. Wanna know what happened? He did unleash an all out attack on the Jews, but the Jews were able to fight back, because God was on their side. Haman ended up hanging himself on the gallows he built for Mordecai(who also gained Haman's position in the court)...Tough cookies...

GOLIATH(even BIGGER "bom bom booooooommm"). Who doesn't remember Goliath? Check out 1 Samuel 17-21. The Philistines thought that they had da bomb diggity with Goliath. He was over 9 feet tall and pretty strong...His armor weighed 125 lbs, and the iron point of his spear weighed 75 lbs. (JUST THE POINT OF THE SPEAR!!!!!!!) Well, he's taunting the Isrealites, and this little kid named David had his slingshot and a few stones. Impossible situation? I think not. God used one stone to smack Goliath's huge head, and he was dead.

How about NEBUCHADNEZZAR? This always makes me think of the Veggietales movie about the chocolate bunnies. (Maybe the situation would've been better if there was chocolate involved...) Anyway, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were all good Christians. Then it happened again. Nebuchadnezzar decided that he needed people to bow down to him. When the Three Musketeers didn't bow, he decided to crank up the furnace seven times hotter and throw them in. Ow, right? Burning alive is not on my list of ways to die. Anyway, they were thrown in there, a fourth person appeared and they walked out...ALIVE. Not smelling like smoke, or burned at all. Check it out: Daniel 3 for full details.

The only time it is EVER okay to boast is in the Lord. ((Psalm 34:2, 44:8)). Not about your salvation((Ephesians 2:8-9)). Look at these: ((Psalm 94:4-7; Proverbs 27:1)) You can't even brag about your LIFE. The only thing you can brag in is JESUS because He's the only thing worth bragging about anyway! Everything else is going to disappear with the rest of the world...Jesus will still be there(*cue music*).

Love is NOT Jealous

So, here's a good one. We always find a way around saying that love is not jealous, because God is Love, right((1 John 4:8))? And God is a jealous God, right((Deuteronomy 6:15))? AND we need to be Christlike, right? Right. There's a difference between being Christlike and being God-like. We are called to be Christlike. That means like Jesus. Jesus walked on earth, had the same feelings and thoughts and situations that we do, and He lived a sinless life.

So, now that we know that jealousy is something that God can do because God deserves the praise and the glory and the honor from you. It's not something that He has to earn. That word "jealousy" in Greek is "zelos" and is only used with God. And...not to mention, HE DOESN'T HAVE ANYONE TO BE JEALOUS OF!!!!! (and in reality, He doesn't need our praise. Because, if we don't praise Him...He said that the rocks would. Rocks. Luke 19:40)

So now that we know that OUR green-eyed monster is NOT the same kind of jealousy as God has...let's take a look at how ridiculous we really look.

We always make fun of TV shows when stuff like this happens(ie. People start fighting over some guy/girl)...but we do the same thing. Even if we're not "dating" the person, we feel like we have some kind of right to deserve their attention. (And just cuz you ARE dating them does not make you exempt from the green-eyed monster sin. That's where TRUST comes in. I'll explain in a minute.) We really do look like High School Musical. I'm fairly certain that that does NOT look Christlike.

Wikipedia says that jealousy is the thought or feeling that occurs when a person thinks a valued relationship being "threatened" by a rival. The thing is, if both people value a relationship, then there should be a mutual trust. There shouldn't ever be any reason to be jealous because you trust the person. This violates the "Do not covet" commandment((Exodus 20:17)).

Now, just because we're not supposed to be jealous does not mean that it doesn't happen even to the best of us(and I mean BEST). Let's look at David. Son of Jesse, Shepherd...King of Israel. He had everything! Well...at least we thought he did. Along came Bathsheba...and BANG. He thought she was gorgeous....Bad news. She was married. Not only was she married, she was married to one of David's best soldiers. So what did David do? He decided to kill Uriah. Not straight out, of course. He was the king! So he put him in the front line of battle. He was killed almost immediately. So that left David open to take Bathsheba for himself. All this just cuz he was jealous of Uriah. ((2 Samuel 11-12))

It doesn't always have to be a "love" problem. Check out Joseph's life ((Starting in Genesis 30)). Joseph was daddy's favorite. He gave him a coat (of many colors) and all of the other brothers were jealous because of it. (I know that if I wasn't my dad's favorite, I would be mad at my siblings like they are at me...;) ) Well, they decided that they wanted to go ahead and sell Joseph as a slave. All because they were jealous of their baby brother.

Jealousy is found all throughout the Bible. And every time, the person who was jealous usually did not end up well. Cain and Abel((Genesis 4:2-17)) and even Satan and God((Isaiah 14:12-22))...Cain ended up wandering the desert and Satan...torments the earth. I mean, really.
Jealousy is something that we all have to deal with. Whether it be over a person or a position, it's still a sin, and sin separates us from God((Romans 6:23)). It's not worth it to be jealous of what someone else has, because when you're focused on God, then He's going to give you everything you need((Philippians 4:19))...So, really...you have nothing to be jealous of.

Kindness Part 2

So yesterday, we figured out that by being selfless, we're being kind.

According to Wikipedia, Kindness is a Knightly Virtue. If you know me at all, then you know that I'm all about Medieval times. (I'm fairly certain that I'm actually from Medieval Times...) Anyway, the Knightly Virtues are somewhat like the Fruit of the Spirit. They were qualities that I knight possessed that they tried to live out in their daily lives. I can tell you that if I HAD lived in Medieval Times, I would've been saved out of a tower by a knight and we would've lived happily ever after(shut up. I know that the Dark Ages were not like that).

Think about it. Kindness is something that you have to learn. If we're being honest here, people are not born kind. Another definition of being kind is being childlike. Do you remember the story when Jesus told His disciples to "let the little children come to Him"? ((Matthew 19:14)) Jesus said that the Kingdom of God belonged to people like the little children. The KINGDOM OF GOD!

Job 6:14 says that "He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty". Whenever it talks about the "fear of the Lord" in the Bible, it doesn't mean being scared of Him. It means "reverential trust". (Yes, I did take that directly out of "Fun in the Son", thank you very much Seth Hamrick. :) ) So you're forsaking the trust of the Almighty when you refuse to extend kindness to people. Dude. FORSAKING IT. That means leaving it behind and never looking back. Holy cow, guys. I don't think that being unkind to someone is worth forsaking the person who extended the ultimate kindness to me. He gave His Only Son to die for the stupid things that I have done, am doing and will do, FOREVER.

Now, when you see that, it isn't that hard to extend God's kindness to people.

But it is. Because we have this feeling called "pride" and it happens to take over when we see someone in need, we feel like we're better. It really is true the you should respect the Golden Rule. ((Luke 6:31)) It is really, really hard to do that when people have been ridiculously stupid to you. You want to (honestly) punch them in the face and make them hurt just as bad. That's not what Jesus did when the guards were beating Him, and spitting on Him on the way to Calvary. He did it for ALL OF US, so that alone should be enough incentive to be kind.

Guys, let me tell you. Writing these blogs about love is really testing me. In order to understand what real patience, and real kindness is(so far), I'm getting smacked with a whole lotta junk that tests both my patience and my kindness. Because whenever I feel like I'm about to blow up at someone I hear God saying, "Rina...be patient. I am patient with you." Whenever I'm about to make a sarcastic comment that could hurt someone's feelings, I hear God saying, "Rina...Remember what I did for you? Be kind because I am." It's a hard lesson to learn, I kid you not.

Tomorrow we start on jealousy. That should be interesting...

Love is Kind

Well, the past two days were dedicated to patience, and we're just gonna keep the train rolling...or whatever you call it these days...

When you hear the word "kind" or "kindness", who do you think of? Being a girl...I tend to think of one or two Disney princesses (i.e. Snow White and Giselle). Now, if you've ever seen Snow White or Enchanted, you'll know that these princesses might as well be made of pink frosting because they're just so darn sweet. (Normally, people like this in real life are called "goody-two-shoes". They annoy me to pieces...This is not to say that ALL people who are kind are fakes...but there is a good deal of them out there. ANYWAY.)

Let's get the definition out of the way:
Kindness: cheerful, expressing goodwill, desiring to help others, charitable, gentle, considerate, helpful...(get the picture? PINK. FROSTING.) but this is the one that stood out to me: "helpfulness towards some one in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped"

Okay, so obviously, my spiritual gift is not kindness. We can add that to my list of things to work on. It's not like I'm mean, but patience and kindness kindof go hand-in-hand.



So, Pon here, decided that he wanted to take out his heart so that he could give it to Zi. We're not supposed to literally take out our hearts and wash 'em off, tie a ribbon around 'em and give 'em away. It's not what God means when He said that love is kind.

I think that I have a perfect example. At Bethany's Sweet 16, we have a tradition of always making sure that Sarah does NOT throw out our garbage. (She has since 6th grade, so now we're killing her with kindness by doing it for her. Literally, I think it's killing her.) Really, she chased Meredith down and screamed at her to give back the plate. Now, this is not to show you how Sarah gets when she doesn't get her way. This is to show you what insightful thing Meredith said. She said, "Sarah, sometimes, you get to the point where being kind isn't kind anymore."

Now, there's a concept. Remember the definition of "kind"? Doing something without expecting anything back? Well, we never expect Sarah to put our junk away. She just does. We all do it for each other, because SHOCKER. We CARE about each other. We WANT to do it for each other, because we know it's not only the right thing to do, but it's the kind thing to do.

Kindness isn't about getting paid for what you do--that's called a "job". (We don't talk about that...;) ) When you think about people that are kind, who are NOT fake about it, then you realize that THAT is the type of kindness that Jesus was talking about. ((Proverbs 21:21-- "Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.")) Now, I don't know about you, but life, righteousness and honor sounds pretty darn good to me. Who all of you Bible scholars know the Fruit of the Spirit? ((Galatians 5:22-23--"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Apart from these things there is no law."))

Whoa. There is NO law. Think of what this would've meant in Bible times. The Pharisees and Sadducee upheld the law. (Think peacock showing off its feathers.) No lie, these guys were the bee's knees. I think that if I was in their position, I would've been pretty upset to hear that without all this "goody goody" stuff, there wasn't a law....I mean, if that was my JOB (which I abused, by the way...but whatever), and this JESUS guy was telling everyone that I was WRONG, I think I'd be a little ticked off. Wouldn't you be? Anyway, the twelve awesome disciples(which I'll get to in a later series) already got a lot of trouble for just FOLLOWING Jesus. Think about what kind of trouble they went through to repeat His teachings! They definitely did not expect anything back from the people they preached to. Except for maybe...rotten vegetables flying towards their head. This was kindness.

Why did they feel the need to be kind to others? Because Jesus had been to them. The twelve disciples were NOT sinless. In fact, we had a tax collector, a doctor and a whole lotta fisherman. They were just normal people, which is why the Pharisees were so ticked off with Jesus in the first place. Not only was He claiming to be the Son of God(which He is) but He hung out with sinners! THEN, those same sinners are going around spreading this Word....So basically, Jesus extended kindness to them, and in turn, they reflected His kindness to other people. (gee...that sounds a lot like how we're supposed to LOVE people...go figure.)

So, so far, what have we learned about kindness? Kindness is the ability to help people without expecting anything back from them.

Patience...Part Two

So, I was thumbing through my sermon note archives on love(which there have been a lack of sermons on for the past 2 years, at least). But there WAS a sermon on patience! (*hallelujah chorus*)

To fully understand what it means when the Bible says, "Love is patient", we need to really understand what patience is in the first place.

James 5:7-8--"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."
James 5:10-11--"As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."


It was not uncommon in Bible times for there to be a drought. This was a good way for James to explain "patience" to the twelve tribes. People were waiting for the Lord's return, and they were getting impatient. It's not like it had been 2,008 YEARS since Jesus had walked the earth. It hadn't been that long. They wanted Him to come back, and James kicked 'em in the pants by saying that they needed to be patient and wait on the Lord's timing.

Now, this didn't mean that EVERY time there was a drought, God would save the day and water the crops for them. Sometimes, they had to go through the lack of food, because God was trying to teach them something. All things work together for good for those that LOVE Him. ((Romans 8:28)) There's that word again: love. Let's keep going before we confuse ourselves...

In the next verse, he starts again, "You also, be patient." When a Bible author writes something more than once in a span of two verses, you should listen. After that, he continued to say that the prophets had to exhibit patience and so did Job. Do you guys REMEMBER Job? Holy cow!!! All of his friends told him to "curse God and die!"--including his own wife. But Job was patient, and his troubles passed because of that.

Dr. Brunson said "Patience is the ability to bear up under the ugliness of situation, the ugliness of circumstance, and the ugliness of people without becoming ugly ourselves." I think that that is a perfect explanation of patience.

When God tells us that "love is patient", He's telling us that there ARE times when we're going to have to be patient. In layman's terms...love is a battlefield. Not in the sense that you will constantly be fighting or going through a storm, but sometimes it will feel like it. Those are the times when we need to call on God to give us patience; and those are usually the times when we will be the most stubborn about asking for it. Don't be afraid to ask God for stuff. He said that anything you ask in His name's sake, He'll give it to you. ((John 14:13))

Whatever you do....DO NOT curse God and die. Because Job survived oozing boils, the death of his children, all of his SHEEP died (and the rest of his animals)...he sat on a freaking ash heap, for goodness' sake. Patience, for me, is not something I even think about. Ever. Really, I don't. In fact (you can ask my mom), yesterday, I yelled at the computer while writing my lesson on patience. I'm not a patient person...but right now...I'm learning how being patient saves you from a lot of pain. (Refer back to the Dentist's Office Blog...)


The last part of verse 11..."The Lord is compassionate and merciful." I'm sure that you've heard the cliche that "Good things come to those who wait." It's Biblical. We're supposed to wait on the Lord. ((Psalm 27:14--"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.")) Now, quick history lesson: when it says, "LORD" (in all caps), it means "to be". So, He was saying wait on the LORD who is "to be". (Guys, this is Psalms...before Jesus was born) So, Jesus wasn't even walking the earth, and David was telling everyone to wait on Him, because He'd give them strength. View it from a military standpoint. David had beaten the Philistines single-handedly. With a rock. And he pointed all the glory back to God. That's pretty impressive. Other people thought so too. David's God had given him a military victory! So, when David told them to wait on the LORD, people would be likely to believe him and do that, because they had seen what God had done with David, a stone, and a slingshot.

Go back to my candy analogy. Let's say you're not a little kid anymore, and you don't think you need your mom's money. You have your own. You're not allergic to nuts. You DO, however, need to wait for the clerk. You pick out your candy, and leave the store. You're taking something that's not yours. That, folks, is STEALING. ((Exodus 20:15)) It doesn't matter how ready you are to leave the store with that candy. It's not yours, and you don't have a right to take it. It's the same as Song of Solomon 4:7b--"Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." It's not our job to decide when it's time for us to be "in love". That's God's job. You may not see why you're not "in love" right now...but that's because of Ecclesiastes 3:11--"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." That's why we don't understand! Because it would turn your brain into mush!! God doesn't want your brain to be mushy...so just trust Him. (That's not easy either, but it's a whole 'nother lesson.)

In summary, love has to be patient because we make love hard.


Don't do that to love. ^^

Love is Patient

Okay guys. Day one of "WiL 101".

Love. Is. Patient.

My goodness. This should be so easy...but it's not. At all. Here we go again...

Dictionary.com describes patience as "having or showing the capacity of endurance". Rina's brain says that patience is putting up with annoying junk no matter the circumstance.

So now, let's go back to the "WiL" blog. Remember the final answer for who you loved? Think about them doing the most horribly awful thing you can possibly think about to you. Now, do you still love them? I know. In your mind you're saying "yes, of COURSE! I will ALWAYS love them." But, let's be honest here. Most of us would not. Most of us would stay hurt and not forgive them. (I say this from experience...again.)

Patience can also be waiting. Love waits. True love waits. Et cetera. It's extremely hard to wait. Picture...a kid in a candy store who has to wait to pick out anything until his mom comes out of the bathroom. There is a LOT of candy. Like...Twizzlers and Hershey's and Reese's and M&Ms and Starburst and Skittles and Snickers and Peachy-Os...Anyway. His mom comes out of the bathroom and WOOHOO!! He can get candy.

Now...What did we learn from that analogy? No, not that we should carry our own cash. The whole point was that we're a little kid. We're dependent on our parent to have the cash for us. It's the same with love. Trying to get it before God thinks you're ready is never a good idea. He knows what's best. Think of it this way: You have an allergy to nuts. You don't know that. You're just a little kid. If you try and pick out candy that has nuts...your mom will say "no". But if you WAIT for her, she'll protect you from the evil nuts! There are some evil nuts out there, guys...By waiting, we can avoid being hurt by them. Yes. It is hard. (Again, from personal experience. It's way harder than it should be.)

So what did we learn? Love waits. Love deals with annoying people and has a good attitude about it. We'll look more into patience tomorrow!

One Love...

Now, I had a very interesting conversation yesterday...and I wanted to share it with you. The other half shall remain anonymous. I'm blue.

"[in reference to my blog]In deed, though I do disagree with some of it."

"Did you even read the whole thing?"

"Yes."

"Then explain how you disagree."

"While you are correct on "Love" being a feeling that God wants us to have equally to everyone (that is, as you said so eloquently, that the the love we have for our family "is the SAME LOVE that we should have for hobos.")
I agree with that part, but when you get to the butterflies I become wary. You see, the love between a newly wedded wife and husband if COMPLETELY different then the love of a couple on their 50th anniversary. But it is still love.
Do you get what I am saying?"

"kindof. But in essence, it is the same love. You're stereotyping. Just cuz you're old doesn't mean that you don't get the same butterflies. You've been through more."

"But it isn't the same love! A newly wed will have roaring chemicals of dopamine flying through their brain, but an elderly couple probably (unless they are lucky) won't, instead basing their relationship off oxy-something."

"Love isn't about the chemicals in your brain, silly. But I get what you're saying. But that wasn't even what I was talking about in my blog. Love changes with the situation, but only in the sense that it should get stronger. If it doesn't, you didn't really love the person in the first place. You were attracted to them, but you didn't LOVE them."

"yes it is..."

"Did you even LISTEN to my side of the argument?? Cuz you're not getting my side of it. You have to get that Love is NOT a feeling. It doesn't matter what the chems in your brain produce. It produces FEELINGS of love. It doesn't produce love. (if it did, don't you think some idiot would've bottled it and sold it in a store? Eau de Amor.)"

"I agree with you completely, love isn't a feeling but that doesn't mean it doesn't rely on the chemicals your brain produces. I would equate love to more of a "drive" just like being hungry or thirsty. Those two drives produces feelings, but they aren't in themselves. and yes, I can make a man fall out of love with his wife if you give me the proper drugs. Seriously. I can do it."

"...God put the chemicals there, no?"

"Well... God designed all the machinery that produced the chemicals there and it can be assumed that something such as the soul controls those machines that produce and react to the chemicals."

"Okay. God created the chemicals. God created the implementation of the chemicals. Therefore: God created love. He IS love. If you don't agree with that, then you are most definitely wrong and any argument that you had before loses its significance."

"Well of course I agree with that, but I still think you are wrong to condemn ALL "compartmentalization" of love...My argument is quite simple. The love between a man and his wife IS TOTALLY different then the love between a brother and a sister, but the love between a brother and a hobo should not be different from the love of a brother and sister. Ask the Greeks. They had at least 7 different words to describe it."

"Okay, well, last night, I thought about this message. The question was "What is the difference between the love between a man and his wife vs. a brother and a sister?" The answer? Romantic feelings. That's what you've been talking about this whole time. Romantic feelings is not love either. The chemicals in your brain create the romantic feelings that make you feel like you're "in love". We don't have romantic feelings for God...or our parents, or our brother/sister. You're associating romantic feelings with love, and that's not true. You can have romantic feelings for a person without actually loving them, and you can love someone without having romantic feelings for them."


Now, I'm really glad I had this conversation. It's exactly what I wanted when I wrote my last blog. I'm dedicating the month of July to follow up on my subject of "What is Love?"

I really don't have anything to add if you read and and fully understood the depth of the conversation.