The Relation Between LOVE and FAITH

Let’s talk a little more about LOVE… and for me to discuss the subject of LOVE, I simply can’t get away from using the example of how much I loved my wife, Piper.  From the very first weeks of our dating days, I knew that she was something special… and I knew with ever-increasing degrees of certainty, that I wanted to take good care of her, protect her and eventually spend the rest of my life with her at my side.

I had some good examples within my family of the way in which a husband should love and care for his wife.  From my perspective, it seemed that the men in a 100% Italian household put their wives on a sort of pedestal… not in an untouchable position… but one in with they were honored and respected for their abilities, wisdom and insight (not to mention the magic they seemed to perform in the kitchen*).  They were treated as equals and seemed to flow as one with their husbands in the performance of their daily lives.

That’s not to say that they didn’t have arguments and disagreements.  My Mom definitely had a fiery side that could become vocally fierce at times, but when push-came-to-shove, there was a LOVE between them that solidly bound them together as the firm foundation of their marriage… that always had the final say-so in any situation.

So, with that example set before me throughout my childhood… being vividly displayed from not only my parents but also with Grandparents, and aunts and uncles, it was with the same understanding and passion in which Piper and I sought to live our life together.

I concluded our last blog post with the statement that,

“The demonstrated LOVE of Christ is the firm foundation that will empower us as we endeavor to continually strengthen and confirm our ATTITUDE and EXPECTATION as a CONQUEROR through Christ in this life.”**

And so… with that point reiterated… let me state the unequivocal Biblical fact that without LOVE there can be no expectation of a FAITH that will empower you and me to CONQUER any situation in life!  The Aposte Paul set the standard when he declared in Galatians 5:6 that,

“In our union with Christ Jesus, no outward performance or ritual can produce the vital transformation*** -- For all that matters is our FAITH that is spurred on to action by LOVE.” (Williams/BCJohnson NT Versions)

The more familiar King James Version states it as “FAITH which worketh by LOVE.”  I personally like the idea of my FAITH being spurred into an active state through LOVE. 

John, who was known as the Apostle of LOVE, explains why FAITH can’t work without LOVE.  In 1 John 4:18-19 he explains that,

“No FEAR exists where His LOVE is. Rather, perfect LOVE gets rid of FEAR, because FEAR involves punishment. The person who lives in FEAR doesn't have perfect LOVE.  We LOVE because God LOVED us first.” (God’s Word ©) 

For you see, FEAR is the cause of doubt and unbelief… and according to the book of James, an individual who is harboring any doubt “shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (See James 1:7-9)

So again, let me repeat: No LOVE, No FAITH!

I’ve written before of the limited but very vocal opposition… to just about every decision I was making concerning Piper’s care when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  In the midst of the confusion that it brought to me, I realized that the LOVE that I held for my wife was under siege. 

It frustrated me because these individuals seemed to be blinded to the deep and loving relationship that my wife and I enjoyed… and that no questioning or inference from them of my having selfish motives would in any way shape or form… move me or Piper from the firm foundation of LOVE that we had purposely and passionately (I’m Italian… what can I say…) developed over the many years of our life together.

The same can also be said for the spiritual side of the battle that Piper and I fought during that time.  It was our deeply personal, experiential knowledge of the intimate depth of God’s LOVE for the two of us, that kept us on a steady course of FAITH in His Word… because we knew that we knew – without any doubt - that He would ALWAYS be true to His Word that we were standing on… and He never failed us.

So…. Have you ever wondered why something didn’t work out the way you had hoped it would?  The way you were “standing in FAITH” for?  Well then… Maybe today’s post will have some special significance to you!

The Bible makes it pretty clear that “Without FAITH it is impossible to please God.” (See; Hebrews 11:6)  But it also goes on to teach us that our FAITH won’t do us a bit of good if we are not allowing the LOVE of God to be the foundation and the working component of our FAITH.

No LOVE = No FAITH!  It is as simple as that. 

…and remember that “We LOVE because God LOVED us first.”  He did it first.  He established the process and now He is with us to help us to have the wisdom, the strength, the patience and the ability to do the same!

Have a GREAT weekend and let His LOVE spur you on to actions of FAITH today.

 

*One has to understand that food and the preparation of it is a big part of the Italian culture.

**https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-attitude-and-expectation-of.html

***which according to Galatians 5:1 is “the freedom with which Christ has made us free” as born-again Christians.

The Attitude and Expectation of a Conqueror!

In the midst of my morning Bible study earlier today, my deep concentration was suddenly interrupted when I realized that the Sirius XM Southern Gospel channel that I was listening to was playing an unusual number of the old hymns of the church… an unusual number… unless it was their Sunday Inspiration program that I always enjoy tuning into early on Sunday mornings.

In a moment of confusion, I shook my head and then turned around to the dog laying on the couch behind me and stated, “Did I miss a day?  Is today Sunday?”  And when Fiver refused to answer me (it would have been a little strange if he did… don’t you think?), I picked up my phone to check the date and day on the lock screen which proved that I wasn’t losing it… but that it was in fact, Saturday and not Sunday!

When I listen to the old hymns of the church played on the Sunday Inspiration program and then again mixed in with today’s morning programming, I am always reminded of Piper’s and my days at her family’s home church, First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, California.  It was there that I was introduced to the old hymns of the church.  They were different from the songs and hymns we sang in the Catholic church and became a solid part of the ever-growing foundation of my Christian life.

That time at her church also chronicled the first twelve years of Piper’s and my burgeoning relationship and took us from dating, to engagement to marriage and during the last two years there, the births of our first two children.  So… anytime I hear the old hymns I am not only reminded of our very active involvement at the church, but also of all the exciting and fun adventures my sweet, freckled, dynamo of a girlfriend and then wife, and I enjoyed in high school, JC, Chico state and the first five years of marriage before starting our family.

We both had an adventurous nature about us and when together… we felt like we could do and CONQUER just about anything!  Piper may have been petite in stature but made a large and positive impression upon every group of people that we interacted with.  I recall many congregants of the church (who knew her far longer than I did) stating that while the Piper they knew and loved was small on the outside… she was a GIANT on the inside!

She was one of the first people that I got to know that had an ATTITUDE and EXPECTATION of being a CONQUEROR!  We made a great team and whether it was helping out with and/or taking a leading role at a school event, putting on a community musical program at church in our late teens or early twenties, taking on various leadership roles at church, hiking the trails at a local city or state park or singing at different community business and club events, she and I learned to feel and act like we were CONQUEORS who trusted in the Lord and could do just about anything with Him at our side.

In our last blog post* we took a look at Romans 8:7 and learned that,

“God has made us to be more than CONQUERORS, through His demonstrated LOVE which is our glorious victory over everything!” (TPT) 

The Apostle John, who was known as the Apostle of LOVE, takes our understanding a little deeper by explaining to us in I John 5:3-5 that,

“True LOVE for God means obeying his commands, and his commands don’t weigh us down as heavy burdens. You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world.  So then, who are the world CONQUERORS, defeating its power? Those (of us) who BELIEVE that Jesus is the Son of God.” (TPT)

The word “BELIEVE” in the last verse is an ACTIVE-TENSE verb that is the key to understanding how this truth can and should be activated in our lives.  First and foremost, we must actively BELIEVE in the truth that we are CONQUERORS in and through our faith in Christ and His Word… and then, develop the ever-present and ever-increasing ATTITUDE and EXPECTATION that we can and will be able to CONQUER anything that comes against us in our daily life**

The “demonstrated LOVE” of Christ as mentioned in Romans 8:7, is the firm foundation that will empower us as we endeavor to continually strengthen and confirm our ATTITUDE and EXPECTATION as a CONQUEROR through Christ in this life.  Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 teaches us how to grow in our intimate knowledge of how much Christ LOVES us… and believe-you-me… with that level of intimacy between us and God… NO force from hell can successfully come against you and me!***

So therefore, my daily confession is that I have an ATTITUDE and an EXPECTATION of a CONQUEROR! 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have a terrific weekend… and as you do… keep an eye out for opportunities for you to demonstrate your foundation of the LOVE of God working in you by… walking with an ATTITUDE and EXPECTATION of a CONQUEROR!

 

 *https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/07/who-are-you.html

**Check out Romans 8:33-36

*** See Joshua 1:5

 

 

 

Who Are You?

Yesterday would have been my beloved wife’s and my 49^th Wedding Anniversary.  And even though she passed on to her eternal reward back in 2018… it seems like it was just recently when we began our friendship adventure as seniors in high school, back in the fall of 1970!

With the occasion of our 49^th Anniversary, I found myself preoccupied with thoughts of the countless special and unique times we enjoyed together during our marriage years, as well as the five years we dated before that wonderful day in July of 1975.  Looking back, I can see that our relationship rapidly took on a personality all of its own.

As I’ve mentioned before, I was a practicing Catholic who had a hunger for the things of God… but to be honest… didn’t really know much about Him.  Piper, on the other hand, lived her faith on the sleeve of her shirt, and knew and acted like Jesus was her best friend… and… whether she knew it or not… drew me into her exuberant, exciting and loving lifestyle of faith… and the rest is just history… OUR HISTORY!

One of the very first portions of Scripture that I learned, memorized and applied into my daily life is found in Philippians 4:13 where… when writing from a cold jail cell… the Apostle Paul declared to the church in Philippi that,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (EMTV)

As a young couple, Piper and I grabbed onto the truth of this verse and it quickly became the foundation of our Christian walk.

The modern language Message Bible brings out a truth in this verse, that I believe Paul was trying to teach us, that is not necessarily seen in the more classic translations.  It states Paul’s words as,

“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” 

Throughout his letters to the early churches, Paul regularly emphasizes the importance of who we (as born-again Christians) are in Christ, and even though it is a major thread within his teachings, it is a revelation that is often over-looked or simply misunderstood.  The Message paraphrase brings out this truth by stating that like Paul, we Christians,

“can make it through anything in the One who makes us who we are!”

And so… if you’re anything like me… our immediate thought as we read this verse should be… “Well then, according to the scriptures: Who Am I?”

My automatic response to this question led me directly to another one of Paul’s teachings, as found in the book of Romans where, when speaking of all the trials and tribulations that we face in this life, he unequivocally and from personal example stated that,

“in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37 – KJV) 

So therefore… according to the truth of God’s Word… as Christians… you and I are not supposed to just barely get by in life… but by and/or through our ever-increasing FAITH in Christ and His Word… we are designed by the heavenly hand of God to live as MORE than CONQUERORS through Christ and His unconditional LOVE for us!

I used to love to watch Piper teach and/or preach… and especially to the adult members of the congregation.  She had a spark and contagious joy in her presentations that just seemed to draw those in attendance into her topic and especially with the humorous examples she used.  She loved to give the practical example of Romans 8:37 that we had heard from a well-known Christian teacher, who had taught during a weeklong convention that we had attended in Anaheim, California in the mid 1980’s. 

In his session on Romans 8:33-37, he described the difference between a CONQUEROR and the one (like you and me) who is MORE than a CONQUEROR.  He spoke of the heavyweight boxer who wins the championship bout as the CONQUEROR… while his wife, to whom he comes home to and presents the prize money check, as the one who is MORE than a CONQUEROR!  

For while the husband did all the work to gain the prize… it was his wife, who had no actual part in the fight… who receives the benefits and is consider MORE than a CONQUEROR. (You’d appreciate this even more if you saw Piper, during her sermon, acting out the part of the champion boxer in contrast to the petite, quiet demeanor of the wife…)

In relation to our Biblical understanding of Paul’s teaching, we would therefore see Jesus as the boxer who died for our sins and went to hell… where He became the CONQUEROR as He

“spoiled principalities and powers, and made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15 KJV) 

And we Christians, as the beneficiaries of His victory, live our faith-filled daily lives as MORE than CONQUERORS in all that we do.

Now that is pretty exciting, wouldn’t you agree?  And that is only a cursory explanation of all that we are and can have as Christians in our daily lives!  Remember… God doesn’t want us to have just ENOUGH… but, in fact, consistently tells us throughout both the Old and New Testaments… that His desire is for us to have MORE than ENOUGH… by living as MORE than CONQUERORS in, through and for Him!

So Yeah… I’ve enjoyed the sweet sorrow of remembering many of the wonderful and special times that my Piper and I enjoyed during our years together… but you know?  Even more… do I look forward to the MORE than a CONQUEROR experiences that I have yet to live in my present and future!

How about you?   What will you say when someone asks “Who you are?

Have a GREAT weekend and think about how you might turn your everyday life into opportunities to be MORE than a CONQUEROR in and through Him!

Vivid Imagery

Vivid Imagery is a literary technique that effective writers use. It means to include all of the senses when describing something in a piece of writing. These senses are seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching.*

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a vivid imagination.  I think that is one of the many reasons that my wife Piper and I hit it off so well… from that very first day we began our friendship… on the very first day of our senior year in high school… in the very beginning of the 1970’s.  For you see… she possessed just as vivid an imagination as I did!

So, dream and imagine we did.  From practically that first day together as we walked the hollowed halls of Montgomery High, through the next 48 years together and then the last five hours of her life, as I held her hand at her bedside and looked into her enchanting brown eyes and softly reminded her about all the wonderful dreams we had imagined and successfully pursued over our lifetime together.

The Apostle Paul encourages us in Ephesians 3:20 to:

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. (referring to our ability to know the intimacy of His love for us in verses 14-19) He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest requests, your most unbelievable dreams, and exceed your wildest imaginations!  (and then) He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” (TPT)

And I can assure you that over the years, we definitely had prayed some pretty outlandish requests, dreamed many unbelievable dreams and most of all… enjoyed exploring and living some of our wildest… and most vivid… imaginations!

The 23^rd Psalm has always had a unique and special place within my Christian walk because of the vivid imagery that it always elicits within me.  It is the type of imagery, as our definition above explains, that tends to touch and stimulate all of my senses, including those of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching. 

The Passion Translation especially paints a vivid picture of David’s prose and poetry that helps the reader to catch the full intent of this psalm.  In writing this work, David draws from his expansive knowledge of shepherding a flock of sheep “in the rugged Judean hills around the Israelite town of Bethlehem, a few miles south of what was then the Canaanite stronghold of Jerusalem.”**

The vivid imagery of this portion of scripture has acted as a vehicle in which I have been transported… in my mind’s eye… to some of the most awe-inspiring, beautiful and serene locations that I have visited throughout my life… and has helped to carry me on through some of the most difficult test and trials that have personally come against me and my family.  In the first three verses of this psalm, David writes from his heart and vividly declares,

“The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name.” 

I don’t know about you, but when I read my Bible, I can’t help but to engage all of my senses.  I always tend to picture myself sitting amongst Jesus and His disciples as they walked the countryside of Judea, or standing with Moses and Joshua as they travelled through the wilderness or fought the battles in their possession of the land that God had promised them.

I enjoy vivid imagery of Paul and Silas, as Paul preaches to the masses during their various missionary journeys and I study the face of Peter as he wrestles with the ever-increasing depths of his new Christian beliefs, while untangling the ties of the Jewish law… in the light of the truth that Jesus taught and lived before him and the other 11 Apostles.

When I read and study the Word, I do so… as they used to advertise the new-fangled color programing on TV in the 1960’s…in “Living Color” and with a very vivid imagination!  It is very similar to the way that I think of and/or dream about my sweet wife.  Because of the covenant relationship that we continually developed and enjoyed, I always see her and the experiences that I am remembering with such vivid imagery that it stimulates all of my senses including those of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching.

And so… using the 23^rd Psalm as a template… I would encourage you to imagine yourself into the sights, sounds, flavors and aromas of the settings that you encounter through the teachings of your Bible, as you read and study the Word each day.  Allow yourselves to be engulfed in the vivid imagery that the writers… under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit… present to you through the pages of your Bible.

Let go of yourselves and discover what it is like to take up Jesus’ personal offering to you and enjoy the “resting place in His luxurious love.”  Know what it is like sit and absorb the personal refreshing at His “oasis of peace” next to the “quiet brook of bliss where He restores and revives” your life.  And take His hand and walk with Jesus down the meandering “pathways to God’s pleasure” that “lead you along in His footsteps of righteousness,” so that everything you do in life “brings honor to His name.”

As you open up yourselves to enjoy the fulness of the vivid imagery that is presented throughout your Bible, I can almost guarantee that you will experience a new depth of excitement and understanding in your covenant relationship with God.  You’ll discover that it will fine tune all of your senses and allow your seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touch to be in sync with God’s!

I mean WOW!  That’s sounds pretty exciting doesn’t it!  It makes me want to jump in right now and experience more and more of the vivid reality of God’s Word into every area of my life… HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have a great conclusion to your 4^th of July celebrations this weekend… as you spread the vivid imagery of the Good News of the Gospel message that’s working in and through you… to those all around you!

 

 

*https://www.enotes.com/topics/history/questions/what-vivid-imagery-mean-86491

** https://www.britannica.com/question/Where-did-David-grow-up