The bond of Love

     I was reading a devotion today that was taken from 1 John 4:7. The idea of the devotion was that we have to know God in order to be able to have a true unconditional love for others. And as Christians, that is exactly how we are supposed to be toward those around us. 1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” In other words, we have to be true born again believers and followers of Jesus in order to have this kind of love. Not only that, but we are also commanded to share that love with those around us, Christian or not.

     This got me to thinking about what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:14. “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” This verse is especially true of marriage. Should a Christian marry a non-believer? No. Why? Because we are yoking our self with unrighteousness. This is a serious matter for Christians to consider. So you “fall in love” with someone. That is just a feeling. It will come and go no matter what you do. Real love is a decision, a commitment. This is an oath we make to choose to love someone through thick and thin. This implies the unconditional love that only God has. And the only way we can share it is if His Spirit is alive in us. So by this we understand that an unsaved person in incapable of making this commitment. He or she does not have that kind of love to give. And we all want our spouse to love us like that. So dating, becoming engaged or getting married is a bad idea when it concerns the bond of a believer to a non-believer. This is asking for trouble. No marriage is perfect. And if God is not at the center of a marriage then when the storms of life hit they will hit hard.

     Just some food for thought.

     Be blessed.

     Ev. W. Shannon Caplinger

The Word of God

I think it’s amazing how much the Bible will speak to you when you really get into it. I have studied the Bible since I was a teenager. I have read it cover to cover more than three times. And I study it every day. And every time I get into a passage I see something more that I didn’t notice the last time. I was recently re-reading Romans and realized I needed to come to terms with what Paul was really saying in Chapters 9-11. So after some prayer and diligent study the Spirit showed me what I was overlooking. I am now doing the same thing with the Gospel according to Matthew. And the process has opened yet another door that has clarified doctrine I wasn’t grasping. This book we call the Bible doesn’t just contain God’s words, it IS God’s Word. It is alive and speaks to us. And it staggers my mind when atheists claim to have read it and still insist it’s just a fairytale. Lord remove the scales from their eyes. Amen.