Tag / love

by The Monahans

Life Goes On

Life Goes On 4  My life prior to the day I came to Christ was a train wreck of sin, addiction, and self-centeredness. I have written some of the details about this phase of my existence previously and won’t recount them again here (but feel free to read through my older blogs, maybe start with This is Real). In Luke 7, when the woman comes in and anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume, he uses the opportunity for this teaching moment: “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much.” (Luke 7:47) I can tell you that I truly identify with this, for I know I have been forgiven a lot. I love Jesus because he has forgiven me for so much!

But what, then, about my life after that day I came to Christ? Was I suddenly perfect, never to sin again? The Apostle John wrote these words: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1 John 1:8) And certainly, this is the case for me. In fact, in many ways my life after I came to Christ could also be described as a train wreck. While my conversion had a profound effect on me – the change was surely dramatic – but I could not escape the very thing that caused my need for Jesus in the first place: self!

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul described himself as the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). This is a Bible verse with which I can truly identify. I have been a Christian for nearly 30 years and I am still sometimes surprised God hasn’t just cast me into the lake of fire.  But that is just the thing: when our dependence on Christ is genuine, we can’t be so bad as to out-sin God’s grace.  Paul wrote these words in Romans 7, verses 21-25: “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

So what can we understand from this? Indeed, this has been something I have struggled to comprehend. Let me take a shot at summarizing: when we are saved through grace, and we are forgiven much, the Holy Spirit comes into our very soul and we start to be recreated. This is very well-stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” So at the moment of our salvation we start a journey called “sanctification” in which we grow more and more Christ-like. We seek His truth in the Bible and we start making earnest effort to please him by the way we live, but we are not yet perfect.

I suspect for some, this journey of sanctification proceeds more quickly than it does for others. I wish I could profess that my journey took the fast track, but it did not. My battle with self-will often sent me spiraling backwards, and there surely have been times in my Christian walk where my life may not have looked that much different than the unsaved. This is something for which I am certainly not proud, quite the opposite; but it reminds me daily just how much I have been forgiven and just how deep and wide the grace of God truly is.

This principle is also summarized nicely in Paul’s prayer for our spiritual growth: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19)

And this grace of God can be yours, too. If you are already a believer, I encourage you to study the Word of God daily, to regularly attend a strong, Bible-preaching church, and to be active with other believers in a small group or Bible study setting. And if you have not yet made the decision to place your faith in Jesus, why not do so right here, right now. Just admit to God you are a sinner, and ask for his forgiveness. It is that simple!

The Bible tells us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart!

May God bless you richly as you seek Him. For all those who earnestly seek, shall find.

To learn more, please click here: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

The Narrow Road

Narrow Road 2 Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13) This is a definitive statement from our Lord and clearly indicates not all roads lead to heaven. Indeed, to have assurance of heaven we need to enter through the “narrow gate”.

So how do you know if you’re on the wide road that leads to destruction or the narrow road that leads to life? It’s actually a pretty easy question to answer. We can start with a broad statement: if you are adhering to any religion or spiritual path (or no religion at all) that is not Biblical Christianity, then you are on the wide road and your destiny is not good. The Bible says, “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Easy enough, right? But, you say, “I was raised in a Christian home” or “I’ve been a Christian all my life” or “my parents were Christians” or “I go to church every week”. What then? Is that assurance you have entered through the narrow gate and you’re on the right road? In a word: no! Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) So we better dig a little deeper to see if we’re on the narrow road.

Paul instructed us this way: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV) And Jesus went on to say, in Matthew 7:21, “Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” We can know we are on the narrow road, and I believe there are some simple questions we can ask ourselves to help us know.

  • Do I hold the Bible as the highest authority in my life?
  • How often am I opening the Bible and reading and studying it?
  • Do I believe God’s Word is absolute truth?
  • Can I remember a specific time I repented and trusted Jesus?

There are certainly many more questions we could ask ourselves or reflect on, but these would be a good starting point. And please know that the Christian life is not always an easy one. Jesus said “the road is difficult” and in John 16:33 Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” So, especially in these days, if your current path is comfortable, that in itself could be a sign you’re on the wrong road!

Jesus went on to say, in John 16:33, that we should “take heart, because I have overcome the world.” And that is great news for those of us who have entered through the narrow gate. And for those of you who want to enter through the narrow gate, it is not too late! “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Romans 10:9-11)

May you find the narrow gate and enter through it, if you haven’t already. God bless.

To learn more, please click here: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

To stay current on Reign Drops, like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReignDropsBlog/

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

True Love

What's Love 4  There can be no doubt that God loves us. After all, the Bible says God is love. No matter where you find yourself at this moment, even if maybe you don’t feel it, you can rest assured that God loves you. More than you can imagine. And if you want to explore this love that God has for you further, please read our previous blog on the subject:

There’s A God In Heaven Who Loves You

In this blog, however, we’re going to look at things from a slightly different perspective. Here we will accept that Jesus loves us (and teaches us to love others) as a given; so as Paul Harvey used to say, we’re going to look at the rest of the story. The Bible clearly teaches us that we should not “just pretend to love others” but to “really love them.” (Romans 12:9) But just how do we do that? How do we show true love?

In the world today it is not uncommon to hear someone say something along the lines of “Jesus is all about love and tolerance”. And when they say such a thing, what they are usually trying to convey is that true love is defined as accepting a person living in one sin or another just as they are without ever addressing the sin itself. But this position is only partially correct; yes we should treat all people with love, right where they are. After all, even if they disagree with us, Jesus did tell us we should love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). To the extent possible, we should show love to everyone, regardless of their present condition or spiritual state. But that is not the whole story.

You see, loving someone often means telling them the truth. So, if someone is, for example, caught in sexual sin, the loving thing is to tell them the truth. In fact, to tell them it is OK, to encourage them to remain in their sin, is actually damaging and unloving. Why? Because you may actually be preventing them from turning from their sin and receiving the eternal life that Jesus promises those who repent of their sins. The Bible says “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 6:9a)

Jesus came to Earth to live and die for us so that our sins would be forgiven; and to rise from the grave that we could have eternal life. So if we do not call out sin for what it is, and then encourage the sinner to repent and accept the grace of Jesus, we are robbing them of the very loving act that Jesus performed for them. Yes, we are very possibly keeping them from eternal life! So while some may decry that we are being hateful for not accepting others in their sin, in reality, we are being most loving when we tell them the truth!

Of course, we tell them in a loving and caring way. The Bible says: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1, CSB) So the loving thing, the Christ-like thing, is to gently point people to the truth of God’s Word, to encourage them they can change, they can escape the sin in which they are trapped, and to tell them what Jesus has done so they can be forgiven and have eternal life. And all the while, as we share this love of Christ, we are careful that we don’t fall into sin ourselves (for that is a real possibility!).

You can think of it this way: is it more loving to give an alcoholic another bottle or to speak the truth about their condition and point he or she to the nearest recovery center? Paul taught the Corinthian church, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Jesus, himself, showed his love by pointing out our need to turn from our sins: “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

God is very patient with us. But his patience and kindness has a purpose: “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4) He did not come to Earth to accept us in our sins as some would have you think, rather, he came to die for us that we might be forgiven of our sins: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) So, Jesus called us to repent from our sins that he might show his love to us by forgiving us.

Therefore, the most loving thing we can do, and the way to show true love to one who is caught up in sin, is to share the Gospel with them. We tell them that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and that they should “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

To learn more about becoming a Christian, or if you just have questions, please check out KnowGod.org.

If you are trapped in sin and want help, or if you just want to share your thoughts, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

To stay current on Reign Drops, like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReignDropsBlog/

Or follow us on Twitter: @ReignDropsBlog

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

Honor Among Thieves

Honor Among Thieves  Leon had carefully prepared for his day. He had several stops planned on his route and wanted to be sure he had the proper look. He chose his new Wrangler jeans, his favorite Carhartt shirt, and his well-worn Red Wing boots. He topped off the look with his black USA flag baseball cap. He couldn’t completely avoid being seen by people today, but he didn’t want to stand out or be particularly memorable. Just an ordinary guy going about his ordinary business. He’d walked through this neighborhood a few times before, so he wouldn’t be an entirely new face, and he counted on that familiarity and his “every man” look to provide a sort of hidden-in-plain-sight kind of cover.

But someone did notice him today. As he walked up the driveway of 149 West Street and around the corner into the backyard, he caught the eye of old lady Brownswick. She lived across the street and she knew her neighbors were visiting Israel on vacation. Their dream vacation – walking where Jesus walked – and their excitement drove them to make sure everyone in the neighborhood knew; but especially Mrs. Brownswick. Because they knew she would keep good watch on their home during their absence. And that she did. So when she saw Leon slip around to the backyard, she immediately called the police.

And as Leon came back out of the house at 149 West Street, he walked almost directly into the arms of waiting police officers, who promptly placed him under arrest. In the normal course of the process, police searched Leon and found several of the ordinary items an adult male might carry, but one item in particular caught the arresting officer’s attention. It was a small piece of paper, folded neatly in Leon’s wallet. The officer unfolded the paper and found, much to his surprise, Leon’s personal code of conduct, a list of five rules he operated by:

  • Never steal from a single mom
  • Never kill anyone
  • Don’t hurt small animals; stay away from large ones
  • Don’t make a mess of people’s homes
  • Don’t feel guilty, insurance companies will pay for what you take

“Oh, here we have an honorable thief,” thought the officer, as he chuckled and starting showing the paper to the other officers on scene. They all had a good laugh and they mocked Leon without mercy as they placed him in the back of the patrol car. Those rules had served Leon quite well over the last three years, ever since he left his job as a jewelry store employee and started his criminal career. He knew how to spot high quality jewelry and stealing it made him far more money than selling it retail, at least until today. And thanks to those rules, he never had to feel guilty about any of it. At least, that’s what he thought at the moment, but that would soon change when he stood before the judge at his sentencing.

In case you’re wondering, Leon is a purely fictional character, made up to illustrate a point – that we are all kind of like Leon to some extent. For do we not all have our own “personal code of conduct” that guides our daily lives? And just as Leon tried to differentiate himself from other, less considerate and more violent criminals, do we not also compare ourselves to others who we feel are worse people than ourselves? Who among us has not thought himself or herself to be “mostly good” or “better than” another human being?

But the truth is, way deep down inside, we each know we have done wrong. So when we compare ourselves to others to feel better, are we not truly just pursuing honor among thieves?

The Bible tells us that “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) And even though we may not have specifically read God’s law, we demonstrate that it is written in our hearts when our own conscience and thoughts either accuse us or tell us we are doing right (see Romans 2:14-15). None of us would ever claim to another person that we are perfect, so we are being disingenuous if we claim, even to ourselves, that we are without sin. Therefore, we often resort to creating for ourselves a sort of curve upon which we hope God will grade us. “We may not be perfect, but at least we never….(insert name of some specifically horrible sin here).”

But even though our personal sins may be on what we perceive to be the minor end of the scale, a thief only has to steal one little thing to be labeled a thief. A liar only has to tell one small lie to be labeled a liar. And, indeed, the Bible tells us “the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” (James 2:10) So we know God doesn’t grade on a scale. He is a perfect, righteous, and loving judge and, as such, he must punish sin where ever it is found just like a just judge must impose a penalty even for a minor crime such as speeding. And if we claim we have no sin, or our sin is not as bad as someone else’s, we are only fooling ourselves, and it only shows that the truth is not in us. (see 1 John 1:8).

But the same holy and just God who must punish sin wherever it is found, loved us so much he paid the penalty on our behalf so that we do not have to suffer the eternal consequence. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) All we need to do to assure we avail ourselves of this love is to repent and believe. “In fact, it (The Bible) says, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart. And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Romans 10:8-11)

So don’t be like Leon and count on a favorable comparison of yourself to others; rather, trust in God’s Word and the ultimate love he has shown by paying our sentence for us. Make today the day you accept the free gift of salvation through Christ our Lord!

To learn more, please visit: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Or follow us on Twitter: @ReignDropsBlog

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

Before You Go

Before You Go 1 Haisley Oaklynn McCormick grew up in a prestigious suburb surrounded by the well-heeled. Her parents net worth exceeded eight figures and Haisley was an only child. Her parents’ high paying jobs necessitated working long hours, leaving a less-than-the-ideal amount of time for them to focus on Haisley. They tried to make up for this deficiency with money, buying Haisley pretty much whatever she wanted. She always had the most fashionable clothes, the finest salon treatments, and she drove to school and back in her brand new Lexus SUV. Wealth and privilege was the only way of life she knew. Her biggest problem was the lingering question of why her parents gave her such a strange name; but she kind of liked the uniqueness of being the only Haisley she knew.

Patrick Thomas O’Brien was the high school’s star quarterback. He actually excelled in baseball, too, but his lifestyle didn’t leave room for two sports so he gave baseball up. The girls seemed to favor football players after all. He grew up in a middle class neighborhood. His parents both worked, out of necessity, but their income usually was just enough to pay the bills. Patrick managed to save enough money from his part time work to buy a used Chevy Silverado 4WD. It had a lot of miles and a bit of rust, but even rusty pickups carry a certain coolness factor that fit his desired bad boy image quite nicely. Known to his friends as PT and to the local police for his weekend antics, he managed to avoid suspension from high school athletics mostly because he was the best quarterback they’d had in decades.

PT’s one hundred percent Irish heritage gave him rugged good looks and a natural charm that Haisley found irresistible. She was drawn to him almost immediately and became a cheerleader mostly to be closer to him. Accustomed to getting her way, she made quick work of establishing her place as PT’s steady girlfriend. Her well-to-do parents weren’t thrilled with her love interest, but PT and Haisley had been dating for the better part of two years so they were used to it by now. Their busy work schedules made it easy not to think too much about it, but inwardly they wished someone better would come along. PT was no stranger to trouble and they felt he had a negative effect on Haisley’s behavior, too. But Haisley was pretty sure she wanted to be married to him and she had no intention of giving up on that goal.

Perry was a big oafish kind of young man. He was almost big enough to be an offensive lineman but he was the backup quarterback instead because, while he was slow and a bit clumsy at times, he could throw a football 70 yards and be on target every time. He grew up in a Christian home and his mother had once been a Gospel singer before she became a mom. Perry and PT wouldn’t normally be friends except for football. Both being quarterbacks for the same team meant they spent quite a bit of time together. PT didn’t like it when Perry brought up Jesus, which he did frequently, but this time was different. Last night PT got in some real trouble with the police and he knew he’d gone too far.

Full of regret and uncertainty, he confided his predicament to Perry. PT knew all the college scouting visits and potential scholarships were now in jeopardy. He had Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley coming, for goodness sakes, and he would surely cancel upon hearing this news. As PT poured his heart out, he noticed how Perry just listened quietly and without judgment. It was hard for PT to talk with his other friends because they had a tendency to tell him what he wanted to hear and encourage him toward the next opportunity for shenanigans. The other guys just wanted to have fun but Perry was different, and his concern was genuine, so after unloading his heart to Perry, PT heard himself say, “tell me about Jesus.” And after Perry shared the Gospel, PT became a Christian right there and then. He was still very much in trouble with the law, but the burden was now lighter, and he knew something real had happened. And for the first time in at least a couple years, he cried. Tears of sorrow and joy.

After he left his meeting with Perry and pulled himself together, he sent Haisley a text. PT wanted to tell her the trouble he was in before she found out on her own, which wouldn’t take long in this gossip-ridden town. Haisley was plenty mad when PT told his criminal tale, but she sensed some true remorse and held back her boiling anger. Her reputation would be affected by all this, too, and her parents would dislike PT even more when they found out. But she loved him, and his repentance seemed palpable, so she forgave him and held him tight. When PT concluded with the story about his meeting with Perry and how he gave his life to Jesus, Haisley really didn’t know what to think, so she just said, “That’s great.”

Now Haisley really liked singer Lewis Capaldi and she had started using part of his newest song lyric as her goodbye routine. So whenever PT was leaving her, she’d say, “Before you go, let me make your heart beat better,” and she’d give him a long kiss. It was corny, but somehow PT secretly loved this new ritual. But tonight it was especially sweet, so when Haisley smiled and gave him her corny line “before you go….” followed by a very long kiss good night, PT whispered in her ear, “my heart really is beating better now.” And he left feeling more positive than he had all day.

On his drive home, just a few miles from Haisley’s house, out on Old Town Highway, his newfound positivity was interrupted when his Chevy Silverado started making a loud banging noise from underneath. A broken u-joint. Great. He pulled over and crawled underneath the truck with his flash light to take a look. And exactly 6.4 seconds later, a drunk driver slammed into the back of PT’s disabled truck. The drunk driver and his passenger were unhurt, save for the driver’s bloody nose, but PT was killed instantly.

And just like that, a young man’s life ended. And just like PT and the people in our story, don’t we often think we have more time? But the truth is we may not have another day or even another hour. Life is fleeting, and for many, it ends suddenly and unexpectedly. The Bible tells us that we are wise to consider the brevity of life. In Psalm 39:4-5 it is written: “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” And in Psalm 90:12 it says: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

So if you have not accepted Jesus yet, please consider how quick things can change for you and take seriously Jesus’ call to repentance. “From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’” (Matthew 4:17) You may very well not have another chance and you can be certain Jesus has the solution to the sin problem: “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.” (Romans 10:4) For it is far better to go into the next life, as PT did, with Jesus than without him.

If you’d like more information on a relationship with Jesus, here are two resources that can help:

Know God.org

The Roman Road

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

To stay current on Reign Drops, like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReignDropsBlog/

Or follow us on Twitter: @ReignDropsBlog

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.