What are We Seeking? Religion or Relationship?

God does not want a people who simply adhere to a set of rules no matter how well intended. God said in the book of Hosea, “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6 ).

Sacrifices meant nothing because their hearts were unfaithful to God. God wants obedience and not sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22), mercy and not religious rituals.

God longs for our devotion and loyalty. Do we depend on God or religion? Do we feel comfortable because we read the right Bible version or stay away from movies? How about the attitude, “I don’t drink, smoke, cuss, or chew, or go with girls who do”?

The Pharisees were the ultimate in religious behavior. They extended the laws of God and added their own resulting in legalism. Their desire to follow the law made them blind to the better thing. Jesus said godly behavior starts from the heart, and extends outward.

The Hebrew word for faith is אמונה (emunah - Strong’s #530) and is an action-oriented word meaning “support”. Our Western concept of faith places the action on the one you have faith in, such as “faith in God.” But the Hebrew word places the action on the one who “supports God.”

Emunah means faithfulness, persistent determination, holding steady, holding firm, holding true to what is true: the faithfulness of God. Our readiness to fully devote our lives to the service of God and sacrifice our life for the sake of God is the expression of our emunah in God.

Emunah presumes a relationship with God. Where one is aware of such a relationship, is forever changed by it, this special relationship cannot be fully articulated. Emunah Shlemah is a complete faith; it is more than intellectual, but gained with your whole being, as in “You shall Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Emunah means to believe in the truthfulness of a person as well as having emotional trust in a person. In the desert the children of Israel complain that God brought them out there to kill them. God says that they do not have emunah. (Deut 9:23, Ps. 78:37). They did not trust God.

Trust is Grossly Underestimated

Trust (faith, enudah) is important in every relationship we have. Trust removed can destroy friendships, marriages, businesses, and governments. Trust is grossly underestimated. It impacts us daily, not only in our relationship with God, but with every relationship and every endeavor in which we are occupied. Trust effects our homeschooling.

When faith is developed it has the potential to create deeper relationships. Our righteousness that comes from God is by faith. God wants a committed faithfulness and emotional trust in him. God wants a relationship with us. He wants to dwell with us. He sent his Son to die on the cross so that we could have a relationship with Him.

God Wants a Relationship With Us

God seeks is an intimate, loving relationship with his children. Like the other fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) faith is a category of relationship. The fruit in our life is from our relationship with God.

This faith involves decision and has to be renewed regularly. Faith is response in relationship; it is an ongoing thing, a process. We continually receive faith as a gift like manna.

We are amazed to hear the stories of Israel losing trust in God again and again resulting in disobedience and sin. However, we do the same thing each time we lose faith in God.

Faith develops in the context of our ongoing relationship with God. We easily relate to being a child of God or a servant of God, but find it hard to grasp being a friend of God. God desires to establish a connection, an association, an affiliation, a very special link and bond between Himself and His children.

Faith and Kindness

In Hebrew the word for kindness is chesed. Dyight Pyror’s article on Abraham speaks of the faith (emunah) and kindness (chesed) of God:

Faithfulness, or emunah, is one of the most treasured and trusted character traits of God Himself.

“O LORD God of hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty LORD? Thy faithfulness (emunah) surrounds Thee” (Ps. 89:8 NASB).

On the last day of his life, Moses declares in prophetic utterance:

For I proclaim the name of the LORD [YHWH]; Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness (El emunah) and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He” (Dt. 32:3-4 ).

Even in the midst of God’s terrible judgment upon His rebellious children and even Jerusalem itself, the grieving prophet Jeremiah can find comfort in God’s covenant loyalty and faithfulness.

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD’S lovingkindnesses (chesed) indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness (emunah). (Lam. 3:21-23).

That God’s chesed and His emunah often are joined together in Scripture is not surprising. Chesed is the Hebrew concept that speaks of God’s grace in seeking us out and initiating covenant with us, and then His loyalty and fidelity to the covenant so joined. Though Israel be fickle, He remains faithful because He is a God who abounds in chesed v’emunah.

God wants a relationship and He even provides the faith (emudah) through His Holy Spirit which will bring forth appropriate actions to develop that relationship. What a God!

I’ve had children and grandchildren visiting for a week (watch for photos on my personal blog)  and not much time to write so this post is from Feb  from the archive.

Related Posts:

1. Homeschool Danger (Audio Download Link)
   
2. Do you Love the Law?
3. The Secret of Fulfilling the Law
4. Diligently Teach Them to Your Children
5. A Love Letter from Our Father
6. The Secret to Producing Spiritual Fruit
7. My Review of #1 NY Times Best Seller: The Shack
8. Patiently Waiting for Patience

Also see Emunah: Faith and Faithfulness, an excellent article by Glenn Blank.

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I experienced a delightful week of teaching 18 VBS 1st graders (16 boys!). Too busy to write so here is a post from the archive.

Christians who are passionate for God can be unaware of the critical need for people to be understood. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ have deep emotional roots that go ignored.

Jesus took the time to listen and understand. He looked below the surface to the heart.

People pay counselors thousands of dollars just to be heard in hopes of being understood. I believe the new explosion in blogging is a portrait of people needing to be heard, to be understood.

We all have a need to come to grips with the scars from our past, to be honest about our brokenness and become vulnerable and learn to grow through pain. We do this by being heard and being understood.

Bearing Fruit and Growing: Are We Really Loving One Another?

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. (Col 1:6)

Are we bearing fruit and growing? Do we really understand God’s grace? Are we loving one another with extensive kindness, in spite of points of difference, and weaknesses? Do we take the time to listen and understand one another?

The Pain from Judgmental Christians

In my previous Fruit of the Spirit writings I came to the conclusion that prayer and Bible study are the answer to producing fruit of the Spirit.

Today I want to question how the lack of fruit of the Spirit in our lives can result from emotional brokenness due to a lack of love and a lack of being understood.

It is said the Christian army is the only one to shoot its wounded. Instead of trying to understand we condemn and criticize. What love is this? I have witnessed more condemnation inside the church than outside. There is a history of Christians seeing specks in others eyes and ignoring the logs in their own eyes.

Recently, I received a letter from a misguided woman calling me an adulteress according to Mark 10 and signed the letter “in love.” She explained she could no longer associate with me because I am an adulterer in sexual immorality because my former husband is alive. It hurts. I’ve received similar emails for over ten years and it still hurts. Some people just don’t understand that I received a full pardon because of Christ’s sacrifice. (I received a Biblical divorce. A lack of basic Bible hermeneutics is the reason for the faulty Scripture interpretation and consequential judgmental attitude.)

At first each stone throwing incident was painful to me personally. But now they cause me to grieve for the body of Christ, for all the broken souls in need of love that are receiving condemnation. How is it we forget Christ came not to condemn, but to save sinners?

The results of the superior and judgmental attitudes I have experienced are evident in my current church relationships. My wounds from the regular throwing of stones are still open. They begin to heal and then more stones are thrown. I attend church guarded. Fellowship is difficult because of my wall of protection.

God knows our deepest hurts and secret shame and accepts us because of His Son. Shouldn’t Christians do likewise?

Jesus Understood and Loved

The Samaritan woman felt worthless, abandoned, and unloved after five husbands. Jesus knew and understood. He offered her forgiveness and love in a nonjudgmental way. Jesus understood what she needed—to feel loved, valued, and accepted. And He knew a relationship with Him would fulfill that need.

Mary’s act of love anointing Christ with perfume was not understood and criticized by the disciples, But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? …

But Jesus understood! When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. Jesus demonstrated a beautiful, wonderful, faith, hope, and love.

Only through Jesus and God’s Spirit can we have the faith to change a selfish heart into a heart of love that gives a blessed hope for the future.

As a tree bears fruit and grows in size, so the gospel produces spiritual “fruit” in believers. When we take the time to listen and understand we can help bring healing and restoration to others and fulfill the second greatest command, love one another.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7

Someone you know has a need to feel loved, valued, and accepted. Listen to them this week. Be the one to listen, hear, understand and love.

I began the Fruit of the Spirit Friday Meme, to bring myself to study this topic each Friday. I encourage you to join me. The fruits are listed in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Related Fruit of the Spirit Posts:

• Diligently Teach Them to Your Children
• The Secret to Producing Spiritual Fruit
• Fruit of the Spirit Friday: Love
• Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
• Patiently Waiting for Patience\

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A few days ago I wrote about Brick Walls and how suffering can make us either bitter or better. Bitterness is a poison of emotional venom resulting in critical and judgmental spirits.

Bitterness is a root sin linked with rage, with anger, and with malice (Eph 4:31) that produces fruit of broken relationships in families and churches.

God warns us not to allow bitterness to get a foothold in our lives “see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15).

Why do we hold onto anger? Believers should be forgiving, showing mercy to others just as God has shown mercy to them. Yet Christians are known to be a group that shoots their wounded.

Why? Because hurt people hurt people. Hurt can become a vicious cycle of angry pain.

An unforgiving spirit is devastating. Do you harbor an offense against someone? Do you need release from a heavy yoke? Listen to this excellent sermon by Evangelist Steve Pettit on How to Conquer Bitterness.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph. 4:32).

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I have been so blessed by friends this week. My cup overflows with love from friends demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit (love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness) during my health trials.

Cyber friends, phone friends, church friends have all been praying for me and giving me words of encouragement. What a blessing to be a part of a Christian homeschooling community that reaches across the world to encourage one another.

Loving one another is the core of our Christian walk. The phrase “love one another” is repeated at least a dozen times in the NT. We are also commanded to submit to one another, encourage one another, care for one another, forgive one another, and edify one another.

Jesus taught “to love one another as I have loved you.” Such love only believers can give and receive, since it grows out of having the Holy Spirit.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another. (John 13:34, 35)

Pride Kills Love

Religious pride is a nasty root that produces a wicked, sinful weed choking out the Fruit of the Spirit.

There are those that claim a love for God but pridefully show no love to others. The Word says we can never claim to love God in substitute for love for other believers (John 4:20-21). Anyone who claims to love God, yet hates his brother makes a false claim: he is a liar.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. (Zech 7:9).

Mercy and compassion are commands easily overlooked when one is full of pride. They focus on their definition of how to live a devoted life without thinking of the needs of others.

We have to remember this simple fact: there is no one without fault.

Jesus spent the majority of His ministry teaching against the prideful attitudes of the hypocritical Pharisees. There is no profit in knowing the whole Bible if we live without grace and the love of God!

Our natural inclination is to be self-centered and prideful. We can’t love one another in our sin nature; we need God’s Holy Spirit within us. Then love becomes a behavior flowing from within.

Loving One Another When We Don’t Agree

It’s easy to talk about loving one another. It’s much more difficult to put it into action. Christians get offended easily and bear grudges over many things, especially over interpretation of God’s Word.

Christian love does not mean that we must agree on everything. We should be able to disagree in areas while maintaining love, respect, and a warm, unified spirit.

Fruits have seeds. The Fruit of God’s Spirit are seeds that will bring forth unity and peace, not seeds of division (James 3:17-18). Quarreling, discord and division in the church are the opposite of the spiritual oneness that Jesus prayed for (John 17:21) and that the Spirit was given to produce in the body.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4:2-3).

We are to keep or guard this unity “through the bond” which consists of “peace.” We must lovingly tolerate each other in spite of our differences.

How can lost sinners believe that God loves them when God’s children don’t show love to one another?

Fulfilling the Needs of Others

When we practice the practical acts of love by meeting the needs of others we have a basic assurance of the Spirit of God within. Ask yourself this simple question, “Am I fulfilling needs of others?”

Love for God is expressed by love for one’s brother. With the Holy Spirit we joyfully desire to fulfill the needs of others. As the song says:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity may one day be restored: And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love; Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Not Feeling the Love?

Christ’s standard is set so high that we can easily feel inadequacy and failure at loving one another. But this guilt-ridden heart is evidence of the Holy Spirit working within us. Conviction is from God, condemnation is from the enemy.

Remember Peter’s response to the Lord’s final query, “Do you love Me?” Peter replied, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You” (John 21:17). Once we learn to rest on God’s knowledge of all things, there comes a new confidence before God.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 Jn 3:21-4:1).

This week I have been reminded how short our time is. May we make the best of it by supporting one another, consoling one another, caring for one another, helping one another, and encouraging one another in the love of Christ.

Thank you Dear Ones for the love you have shown me this week.

I began the Fruit of the Spirit Friday Meme, to bring myself to study this topic each Friday. I encourage you to join me.

The fruits are listed in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Related Posts in Category Object Lessons:

• Be the Branch
• Fruit of the Spirit
• Sowing and Reaping
• Spiritual Mountain Climbing
• The Battle of Good and Evil
• Fruit of the Spirit Friday Category

If you have a Fruit of the Spirit blog entry add your name to Mr Linky and comment. If you don’t have a blog, enter your post in the comments below.

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Christians who are passionate for God can be unaware of the critical need for people to be understood. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ have deep emotional roots that go ignored.

Jesus took the time to listen and understand. He looked below the surface to the heart.

People pay counselors thousands of dollars just to be heard in hopes of being understood. I believe the new explosion in blogging is a portrait of people needing to be heard, to be understood.

We all have a need to come to grips with the scars from our past, to be honest about our brokenness and become vulnerable and learn to grow through pain. We do this by being heard and being understood.

Bearing Fruit and Growing: Are We Really Loving One Another?

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. (Col 1:6)

Are we bearing fruit and growing? Do we really understand God’s grace? Are we loving one another with extensive kindness, in spite of points of difference, and weaknesses? Do we take the time to listen and understand one another?

The Pain from Judgmental Christians

In my previous Fruit of the Spirit writings I came to the conclusion that prayer and Bible study are the answer to producing fruit of the Spirit.

Today I want to question how the lack of fruit of the Spirit in our lives can result from emotional brokenness due to a lack of love and a lack of being understood.

It is said the Christian army is the only one