When Love Grows Up

Please read I John 4:17-5:5. The prospective bridegroom was extremely nervous. "I'd like to see a copy of the wedding vows. That won't do there's nothing written in there about her obeying me! Her answer, 'Honey, the word obey doesn't have to be written in a book. it's already written in love in my heart.'" This is the truth that is in view in this portion of I John. The key word is perfect. The word carries the idea of maturity and completeness. The Christian life is to be a daily experience of growing in the love of God. Mature Christian love is the great universal need among God's people. How can a believer know that his love for the Father is being perfected? This paragraph of I John suggests four evidences. I. Confidence. Two new words, fear and torment appear. Fear is the fear of judgment and torment is the Greek word Phobos, acrophobia and hydrophobia (among other phobias) come from this root. If people are afraid, something in the past haunts them, the present upsets them, or the future threatens them. Could be a combination of all three. Satan is still the accuser of the brethren. The Christian need not fear. There is no need to fear the future because our sins were judged in Christ. We should not fear the past because God "First loved us" when we were outside the family and disobeying Him. We need not fear the present because "Perfect love casts our fear". As we grow in the love of God we cease to be fearful of what He will do. Fear is the beginning of torment. We torment ourselves as we contemplate what lies ahead. I know a person who is afraid of the dentist. The torment he suffers before an appointment is much worse than the actual experience in the dentist's chair. God wants His children to live in an atmosphere of love and confidence, not fear and torment. When we were lost we lived in fear know nothing of God's love. An immature Christian is tossed between fear and love; a mature Christian rests in God's love. A growing confidence in the presence of God is one of the first evidences that our love for God is maturing. Confidence always leads to other moral results. II. Honesty. Fear and pretense usually go together. Adam and Eve hid from God and tried to cover their nakedness. "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid." An immature Christian, not growing, may think he has to impress others with his spirituality. This mistake turns him into a liar. Take as an example Ananias and Sapphira, their sin was hypocrisy. Pretending is not a mark of maturity in adults. Confidence toward God and honesty with others, are two marks of maturity that are bound to show up when our love for God is being perfected. a college student, Jerry was commenting about his poor grades for the semester. "I've worn myself out acting and haven't had enough energy left for living." III. Joyful obedience. Not simply obedience-but joyful obedience. Everything in creation except man obeys. In Jonah's case the wind, waves and fish obeyed their creator. It was Jonah who was disobedient. What is the secret of joyful obedience? It is to recognize that obedience is a family matter. The world needs some good old-fashioned practical love. D.L. Moody said "Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather." We are children obeying a father, not slaves obeying a master. One test of maturing love is out personal attitude toward the Bible. The maturing believer reads the Bible as a love letter. The burden of religion (trying the please God in the flesh) is a grievous one, but the yoke that Christ puts on us is not burdensome at all. Perfecting love produces joyful obedience. IV. Victory. A Soldier in Alexander the Greats' army was not acting bravely in battle. The soldiers name was also Alexander. Alexander the Great said "Soldier change your actions or change your name." Victorious faith is the result of maturing love. Our relationship to Jesus Christ grows by stages. We must cultivate friendship with Christ. Abraham was the friend of God. As we read the Word, pray and fellowship with God's people, Christian graces start to show up. The change will be a gradual process. Our friendship with Christ and our becoming like Him will lead to a deeper love for Christ. Christian love is not a passing emotion but a permanent devotion. The more we know Him the better we love Him and the more we become like Him. The growing believers life will be marked by confidence, honesty, joyful obedience and victory. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How's Your Love Growing

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10). Paul is praying that the saints love would "Abound more and more" The love spoken of here is not "Affection," but a sober kind of love that places high value on a person and actively seeks that persons benefit. Paul's desire is this love will be present in growing abundance. This love is not affection, but behavior, behavior that is both pure (coming from a right motive) and blameless (moral purity). Paul is not scolding them for something they are not doing. He is encouraging them to keep it up and all the more so. Paul now prays a second thing. He is praying that along with their ever increasing love, they may experience an ever-increasing knowledge (of God and his will) and moral insight. This is not knowledge about something, but rather the kind of innate knowing that comes from experience or personal relationship. Paul's desire for these believers is for ever-increasing knowledge and moral insight so they may be able to discern what is best. Because in the Christian life, some things matter and others do not. What counts is "Faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6). Someone said "The good things in life are the enemies of the best." I was in a barber shop recently and observed a mother instruct the barber on how to cut her sons hair. The good barber did exactly what the mother asked him to do. She then went to the manager of the place and complained about the hair cut and refused to pay for it. I believe everyone gave a sigh of relief as she and her son walked out the door. Before we come down too hard on this mother, how many of us are short changing others in key relationships? Are we trading the best for something good? I don't like the lesson this mother taught her son, however I like even less what I teach others when I skim key relationships in my life (called family). How's your love growing? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Do You Glory or Growl

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). The Christian life is not made up of pie in the sky platitudes which have little or no meaning in the real world. When we are told to "Rejoice in our sufferings." we can indeed rejoice in our sufferings. The rejoicing is not considered in the sufferings themselves but in their effects. One effect of suffering is patience. Patience is the habit of endurance, and Christian patience implies submission to the will of God (James 1:3). As we grow spiritually we come to realize that sufferings themselves are an honor and blessing. This idea is often expressed in the Scriptures. Our Lord says, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matt. 5:4). "Blessed are those who are persecuted" (Matt. 5:10). The apostles left the Jewish council "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (Acts 5:41). Peter calls on believers to rejoice when they participate in Christ's sufferings and pronounces them happy when they are insulted for his sake (I Peter 4:13,14). And Paul says, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses" (that is, my sufferings). "For Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses," he says, "In insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties' (II Cor. 12: 9-10). This is not irrational or fanatical. We do not glory in suffering as such, or for its own sake, but because of what the Bible teaches. We are to consider it an honor to suffer for our Lord. We rejoice in being given the opportunity of showing His power in our support and deliverance. Suffering is one means of our sanctification and preparation for usefulness here and for heaven hereafter. A Biblical attitude toward suffering really sets the Christian apart from the world. The power to rejoice comes from omnipotent grace that we receive by trusting in God's promises. "Now brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality." The "Grace of God" was given to them. That grace produced an indomitable joy in a great test of affliction. And that joy in affliction overflowed in love. Grace doesn't work like magic, it works through truth. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free from complaining and from a critical spirit. Paul never asked us to be stoical about suffering. However the pressures of life have a way of developing endurance in us, and this endurance can be exercised only when we are placed under pressure. The very trails we so dread are used by God to strengthen us. Paul is not saying we should merely pretend to be happy. Christianity is never phony. When it come to suffering do you glory or growl? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Reasons to Rejoice

“Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before” (Joel 2:23). I have a dog named Dakota, and she has the ability to rejoice, in animal terms. She is simply happy to be alive. In her dog life, eating, sleeping, playing, giving and receiving affection and protecting her family gives her great joy. However there is somethings she can't do. She cannot rejoice in the Lord. Why? In spite of all her great dog traits, she can't lift her thoughts above her food and family. This means her joy terminates in the objects of her joy. For the believer God is the very ground of our joy. In the New Testament Paul speaks of "joy" as primarily a verb, something we do rather than how we feel. The verb itself means to verbalize with praise and singing. When he writes about rejoicing he often quotes the Psalms and Prophets (Psalms 32:11; 35:9; and many others; cf. Hab. 3:18). As with the psalmists, the Lord who saves is both the basis and focus of rejoicing. The phrase in the Lord refers to the ground (or sphere) of our present existence (cf. Phil 2:19, 24) and thus points to our basic relationship with Christ. This in itself should eliminate all attraction to mere religion. The attraction of genuine Christianity is Christ. The prophet Joel uses the agricultural economy of ancient Israel as an example of what is to come. The former rains refer to the predictable moderate spring rains that came and gave just enough moisture to cause seeds to grow. The latter rains refer to the autumn rains that came in much larger amounts right before the time of harvest. "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:7-8). James is talking specifically about "the coming of the Lord." Many first century Christians expected the Lord to return in their lifetimes. They experienced the initial outpouring of the Spirit; they saw miracles, growth, and multiplication. Yet, still the Lord did not come. Thus, James encourages the church to "be patient," saying there is something yet to come for which God is waiting. This truth also applies to us. Keep your eyes on the Lord and your heart will rejoice. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Anxiety and Prayer

We are living in a time of economic instability that I have not experienced in my lifetime. I visit with people daily who are genuinely anxious and fearful about the future. The Lord has some great encouragement for those who fear the future. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6-7). When Paul set forth the marks of a spiritual Christian he used words like joy, prayer, thanksgiving, peace. Such lives are further marked by gentle forbearance and no anxiety. We live in a post-Christian, postmodern world, which has generally lost its bearings because it has almost totally abandoned its God. Its in this culture that we have the key to effective evangelism. Our world is characterized by fear rather than joy and peace. We as believers should be characterized by joy. And as we are living out true peace and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the privilege to point others to the source of this peace and joy. How can we live free of anxiety? We do so because the Lord is near. He indwells us by the Holy Spirit who turns our present circumstances into joy and peace. Have you noticed the Disciples experienced times of anxiety. They weathered more than one storm. However whenever Jesus showed up, their life circumstances came under the power of the Lord. He has the authority to say "Peace be still." The Spirit who indwells us also prompts our prayers and Thanksgiving. He teaches us to trust, pray and give thanks. Prayer and thanksgiving set up a guard (garrison) around our hearts and minds. This enables us to gaze on our Savior and only glance at our troubles. Why worry when you can pray is not a trite saying, its a biblical truth. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Secret of Joy

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). The secret of joy in spite of circumstances is maintaining a single mind and the secret of joy in spite of people is maintaining a submissive mind. I remember an acrostic for JOY, Jesus first, Others next and Yourself last. This is a tall order to carry out consistently. Let this formula rule in your life and the fruit you bear (Galatians 5:22) will be supernatural joy. The idea of "Selfish ambition" is that of a mercenary, who does his work simple for money, without regard for the issues or any harm he may be doing. Everything he does is for the purpose of serving and pleasing self. This is the basic problem of an unregenerate man, he is wrapped up in himself and has no place in his life for God. Jesus contrasted empty conceit with eternal glory asking "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" (John 5:44). The idea of "Vain conceit" is searching for empty glory, driven by empty pride and personal vanity. "Vain conceit" has an appearance but lacks reality. It is a graphic description of the glory this world affords us which to the natural man appears beautiful and desirable, but which is literally empty of any good or any eternal value. We are talking about a highly exaggerated self-view. It is a passion for personal glory which contrasts sharply with humility. A good example of such a person was Diotrephes who "Loves to be first (he sought preeminence) among (the church and) does not accept what we say (his desire for preeminence led him to discount the doctrine taught by John)" (III John 1:9). To live for the empty glory of this day is a hollow pursuit at best. The sad truth is a man wrapped up in himself makes a pretty small package. Rather than operate in the realm of selfish ambition we are to live in "Humility" or lowliness of mind. The Scriptural "Antidote" for selfish ambition is to view others as being better (held above) ourselves. Humility indicates the esteeming ones self as small or recognizing ones insufficiency but at the same time recognizing the powerful all sufficiency of God. This is the exact opposite of what our flesh nature desires to do. John Wesley observed that "Neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility." The very concept was so foreign and abhorrent to their way of thinking that they had no term to describe it. For several centuries after Christ walked the earth, pagan writers borrowed the term for humility and always used it derogatorily, frequently of Christians, because to them (the pagan writers) humility was a pitiable weakness. Humility is not thinking less of ourselves as much as it is not thinking of ourselves at all. True humility is not putting ourselves down but rather lifting others up. If we focus on lifting others up, putting ourselves down will take care of itself. Should we insist in exalting ourselves the Lord has promised to take care of our humiliation, for He promises to humble the proud. From personal experience I find this to be quite painful. There is a better way "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2). "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:5). In Colossians Paul condemns false humility where individuals in their midst were "Delighting in self-abasement." Their delighting in it means their supposed humility was nothing but ugly pride. It was like that of Uriah Heep, one of the most contemptible characters in English literature, who said, "I am well aware that I am the 'umblest person going." Chapter 16 of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. A modern psychological (industry) ploy is to attribute many personal and social problems to an individuals lack of self-esteem. The Scriptures, however, urge each of us to have other-esteem. Our real problem is self-centeredness and too much self-esteem. Paul urged us to be lowly-minded, not high-minded, seeing the good of others, not concerned with ourselves. How full is your joy bucket? The joy of the Lord keeps company with the humble. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How to "Rejoice Always"

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”- Philippians 4:4. Make no mistake about it, God desires that we rejoice, but He wants us to rejoice with purpose. If we are not rejoicing with His purpose in mind, we will have merely titillated our senses. Psalm 21:1 Tells us there will be everlasting Joy when God's Kingdom is established on earth. Joy and gladness are not only deep inward feelings, they are also expressed in visible celebration when God's people gather together. Why is rejoicing so import? Because "The joy of the Lord is our strength." Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. A believers joy is conditioned by the believers knowledge of the Word. We know that "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." (I Cor. 13:6). Speaking to believers Isaiah 60:15 says "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated... I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations." No only do we as believers experience joy, we are to pass joy on to others. Ephesians 5:20 says "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." For some, this is difficult, actually, at times, we all stumble over this command. We are certainly a gracious people when things are going well. When we return from a trip safely we are quick to thank the Lord for our safe arrival. But let's suppose the trip was a disaster, we were involved in an accident and we were injured. Perhaps the accident caused a delay that cost a large sale or the loss of an important client. Maybe lightning struck the house, or a burglar broke in damaged the house and stole irreplaceable valuables. Do we see God's hand in these circumstances as well? Or do we serve a God who is only involved in the "Good" things of life? Did Job bemoan his "Bad luck" or murmur against God. Just the opposite, he bowed before Him, and blessed Him (Job 1:13-22). Was Job being fatalistic or blind to reality? Not on your life. People who live by genuine faith in God, always rejoice in the Lord, knowing He is involved in all aspects of life. Paul's exhortation to the Philippians is nothing short of a call to faith, this call goes out to those undergoing some sort of heavy trial. When a believer knows that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of the sovereign, wise, and loving God who is always working for his good, (Romans 8:28-29), then he can truly "Rejoice always." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How Full is Your Joy Bucket

Please read Philippians 1:1-11. Philippians is a joyful letter. Mark Twain was a professional humorist, yet in private he was broken by sorrow. When his daughter Jean died, Twain said "I have never greatly envied anyone but the dead. I always envy the dead." Jesus Christ was "A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Yet he possessed a deep joy that went beyond anything the world could offer. As Christians we have the privilege of experiencing "Fullness of joy" yet few Christians take advantage of this privilege. In the book of Philippians Paul shares the secret of Christian joy. At this time Paul was a Roman prisoner. He was chained to a Roman soldier and not permitted to preach in public. Some Christians wanted to make things more difficult for the Apostle, and they preached the Gospel to add to his bonds. Being a Spirit led Believers does not always make you popular, even among believers. Note three principles that will help you have a more joyous life. First, we must have other in our mind. Paul's memories of Philippi could produce sorrow. He was illegally arrested, beaten, placed in stocks and humiliated before the people. These memories brought joy. Why? Because there was the salvation of the jailer, of Lydia, and the demon possessed slave girl. We must remember that it costs something to reach others for Christ. The church at Philippi helped support his ministry. Paul remembers the work of God in their lives. We can be certain that God continues to work in us through His Holy Spirit. Salvation includes a three fold work. The work God does for us-redemption. The work of God in us-sanctification. The work God does through us-service. This work will continue until we see Christ. A great source of joy to Paul was knowing that God was working in believers. Second, we must have others in our hearts. Paul's teaching moves a little deeper. It's possible to have others in our minds without really having them in our hearts. Some would have to confess "I have you on my nerves." We know it's Christ's love that is the "Tie that binds." Love is an evidence of salvation. Paul's love could not be disguised or hidden. Love is the spiritual lubrication that keeps the machinery of life running smoothly. How did Paul evidence his love for them? He was suffering on their behalf. He was a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles. How can we practice this kind of love? It is not something we work up to, it is something that God does in us and through us. God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. The evidence of Christian love is a willingness to forgive one another. I Cor. 13:5 states that "Love keeps no record of wrongs." Christians who practice love always experience joy. Third, We must have other in our prayers. Paul found joy in remembering his Philippian friends before the Lord in prayer. Paul is praying for maturity and he begins with love. A lack of love is a sign of a lack of spiritual growth. Paul prays that they might experience discerning love and abounding love. Christian love is not blind. Paul strongly rebuked Alexander the Coppersmith, he publicly rebuked Peter. The ability to distinguish is a mark of maturity. To a baby every animal is a bow-wow. Satan is a counterfeiter, he loves to attempt to make the fake look real. Paul prays for them to have mature Christian love and character. How are you doing in the joy department. Increased joy comes with increased spiritual growth. We can have fullness of joy in the Lord. Remember "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.