First the Lover…

In the last blog we talked about our mandate to first become the Lover that Christ declares we must be before we are ready to be the warrior that our families need.  We must take time to uncover who Jesus really is and learn to yield to the Holy Spirit as He is revealing Christ to us.  Remember that we said that in order for our relationship with our spouses or girlfriends to grow we must become students of them.  Daily we are studying our significant others…we are learning what makes them tick.  It took time for me to learn about my wife.  We have been married for 15 years and I am still discovering what she loves and what she doesn’t.  I have become a student and have discovered what flowers she likes; what is her favorite music; the places she loves to visit, and her favorite foods.  I have also learned the things she dislikes as well as attitudes that bother her, and what makes her heart hurt! 

So it is with Jesus!  By developing our relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit reveals what He likes; what He dislikes; what makes Him happy and what grieves Him.   As this love relationship grows, He reveals the love language specific to you and Him.  Just as in my relationship with my wife, I would never deliberately try to do anything that would hurt her…and so it is with Jesus.  I never want to deliberately sin or do something to grieve the one I love.  Out of love, He empowers me never to say, do, or think anything that hurts Him.  I am growing in the simplicity of love, humility, and faith.  When we are in a loving relationship with Christ, He imparts His great love to us and then we are able to give the fruit of His great love to our wives, children, family members, and to the world.  Remember, we can’t give away what we don’t have!  In Matthew 22:37 the Lord taught that the greatest commandment is love.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” V 39. The second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself.”   It is impossible to love others until the love of the Lord is in us.  He is the vine and we are the branches…His fruit is imparted to us, as we stay connected to him day-by-day.  He completely fills our body, soul, and spirit with His fruit…love!  For without His love it is impossible to love Him or to love others.

How do we begin to cultivate this love affair?  It is so simple…just give the Lord your simple loving attention in everything that you do!  Be patient in the process because it takes time and discipline.  Daily I practice this simple process and I am learning how to give the Lord all of me in everything that I do.  I am still learning and walking in His divine grace.  It is continual process, but we will learn to give Him attention in everything we do with praise and love.  I am learning to love Him and focus my attention on Him in everything that I am doing.  If I’m taking out the trash…I love Him.  If I’m raking the leaves…it’s for the love of Him.  Try and remember that in every task or job, we are doing it obediently out of pure love for Him.   This is constant communion.  You will begin to find that with Christ as your focus in your daily activities, God comes to help you.  You will begin to notice that you are not accomplishing things by your own strength.  He becomes your strength.  Through childlike love and simple faith, you will begin to do everything for the love of Christ.  When my wife asks me to do something I do it because she asked and because I love her.   By responding to her I am demonstrating the love that I have for her.  The same is true in our relationship with Christ!  Be patient this will be a work in progress.  Daily you will notice love and power being imparted to your life.   You are beginning to know your first true love…He is the lover of your soul.

There is a great little book written a long time ago by a faithful servant, Brother Lawrence.  His book entitled The Practice of the Presence of God changed my life.  

It changed how I approached my relationship with Jesus.  This simple process is just one way to practice the Presence of God. 

This is a great place where we can share things with each other.  We as Men of God can use this blog as an opportunity to share our experiences that have enabled us to grow in grace and love.  We can empower each other with truth, as we grow and walk together in the great grace of Jesus Christ.  We can cultivate an atmosphere of spiritual unity and watch as God transforms His men around the world! 

My prayer is that you will not only discover deeper truths of who you are, but also whose you are through the love and the power of the blood of Jesus!  Thank you for your continued support and prayers.  I would be glad to stand in agreement with you on prayer requests.    I consider it an honor and privilege to stand with you! 

Blessings to you, and as Paul stated in, 2 Corinthians 13:13 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.  Amen”!

Pastor Scott

loveandbloodministries@gmail.com

The Heart of a Lover & Warrior!

The Holy Spirit spoke to me about creating this blog just for men.  Believe me when I say that I am not a perfect husband and father, but thank you Jesus for GRACE!!!  I know that many of you are amazing men of God…you are model husbands and fathers and I honor you!  We can all learn something great from each other and we can strive to be the best men that we can be!

I want to encourage men, and maybe bring new light into areas where we can do it better!  It is my passion to ignite a fire so that men will be stirred to become the very best spiritual leaders in their homes.

To love our families with God’s kind of love, we must first develop our own personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  That’s right men I said the word intimate.  It will be impossible for us to love our wives and children the way God intended for us to love them until we develop a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus.  I know that the word “intimate” may turn a lot of men off!  Some may not understand how to get started in cultivating this relationship, while others may not even be willing to receive this word.  But, the word intimate is defined as a personal relationship.  It means to develop a deep relationship with someone.  The definition of intimacy speaks of closeness, confidence and understanding of that person. 

Jesus wants us to develop our own deep personal relationship with Him.  He wants our relationship with Him to be so close that we are comfortable sharing our deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions with Him.  Jesus is longing for us to be His bride!  Yes, I said it…His bride.  How can a man be a bride?  First, get rid of the fear of being a male bride.  Second, allow yourself to be truly loved on by Christ!  Jesus does not base His love for us based on our pasts or our mistakes...His love for us is not dependent on what we do!  His love is based on grace.  It is a free gift...He does not require anything from you!  So, allow yourself to be loved by your true love.  Go back to the beginning...let Jesus become your first love!  Allow that intimate relationship to build and grow...give yourself freedom to make mistakes and time to learn how to love!  He is not looking for perfection...just your commitment to Him.

Jesus did not mean for us to share our relationship with Him through our wives, friends, or our parents!  He wants to have you all to Himself!  Many of us have lived our relationship with Jesus through other people when He is calling us to Himself! 

How do we get started?  First, like in any relationship we have to get to know Him.  When you met your wife or girlfriend for the first time you took time to get to know her.  It takes time to uncover who she is...her likes and dislikes!  Likewise, we need to take time discovering who Jesus is...His likes and dislikes…what makes Him happy...what makes Him sad.  Jesus left us a person to help us with this relationship…another person who will reveal Jesus to us.  The Holy Spirit will help us uncover who Jesus really is!  He will reveal Jesus to us when we talk to Him in prayer and when we spend time reading His word.  His word is life to us!  It is our instruction manual…it is our guide to living life!    2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God …for instruction in righteousness.  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.  The Holy Spirit will help you as you seek to develop this relationship.  He will take you deeper and deeper...you give Him your time and He will give you Jesus!  There is no end to His love and your experience with Him.  It is His love that will enable you to be the husband and father that He has called you to be.  This is where we begin...intimacy!

Once we have a foundation of intimacy with our Lord, then our Father has something to build on.  He is committed to developing us into a warrior and spiritual leader.  Remember, it is impossible to give away something that you don’t have!  The Holy Spirit will place the Spirit of a Warrior inside of you…He will call you to intercession!  Only through true prayer will we be able to protect our families from the evil that seeks to kill, steal and destroy.  John 10:10 says a thief comes not, but to steal and kill, and destroy.  With our God given authority we will tell the enemy he will have to go through us to get to our wives and children! 

I have entitled this blog: The Heart of a Lover & Warrior.  I believe before we can become an effective warrior we must first develop the heart of a lover.  I pray that in Jesus name that the Holy Spirit would begin today to take you deeper into intimacy.  I pray that He will fill you with the heart of a lover so you can become the warrior that He has called you to be for your family! It may take some time, but if you are willing begin to pray "help me Holy Spirit to grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus."  "Teach me intimacy...teach me about real relationship...I need your love to flow out of me...I want to be the man that my family needs!" Amen!