“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1 NIV)

Charles Colson, former White House council, and President Nixon's "hatchet man," served time in a federal prison camp because of his roll in the infamous Watergate scandal. While in prison he found Christ and his life was turned totally around from upside-down to right-side up. In his best-selling memoir, Born Again, Chuck wrote, “I found myself increasingly drawn to the idea that God had put me in prison for a purpose and that I should do something for those I had left behind.” He founded the ministry of Prison Fellowship that is still active today. When you compare the “before” version of Chuck Colson with the “after” version, you see two completely different men. The before version was cold, mean spirited, argumentative, and ruthless. The after version was loving, kind and gentle. He became a wonderful example of how God can transform a life. You can find examples of this in the Bible such as the transformation of Saul the Pharisee who became the Apostle Paul. He went from being a violent persecutor of Christians to staunch defender of the faith:  Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:6-21; and Acts 26:12-18.

Instruct with gentleness

There are those who oppose the truth all around us, in religion, in politics, on social media postings and especially within the vast world of entertainment. When we see it the immediate temptation is to counter attack. But, that usually fails and is not what the Bible teaches. We are instructed to give gentle truthful responses and pray for them that God will change their hearts.

“Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” (2 Tim. 2:25-26 NLT)

Ask for God’s wisdom before responding

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17 NASB)

With humility and gentleness

“…with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” (Eph. 4:1-2 NASB)

Therefore…

“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:5 NASB)

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” (Eph. 1:18)

Things you cannot see

I’ve spoken to people who say they don’t believe in God because they cannot see Him. Yet, there are many things they use that they cannot see such as radio signals, magnetic waves, microwaves, gravity, electricity and oxygen, just to name a few.

The spiritual world

There is also an invisible spiritual world that exists that you cannot see. The Bible tells us that the things we see are temporary and the things we cannot see are permanent (eternal).

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18)

Elisha prayed for his servant to see the invisible

“Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see " And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17

You must be born again to understand spiritual things

“Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."(John 3:3)

“To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'” (Acts 26:18)

Spiritual blindness is removed

“But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Cor. 3:16)

Those who are spiritual receive understanding

“But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Cor. 2:14 NLT)

Faith gives assurance about what you cannot see

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Heb. 11:1 NLT)

Therefore…

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."( 2 Cor. 10:3-5)

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)

God shows fatherly compassion

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13 ESV)

Jesus was compassionate

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt. 9:36 ESV)

Jesus explains compassion

“Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’” (Luke 10:30-35 ESV)

 Therefore…

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Col. 3:12-13 ESV)

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9 NIV)

Therefore…

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.”(Rom. 15:5 NIV)

And do the following

• REJOICE - “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Rom. 12:12 ESV)
• DO GOOD - “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)
• BEAR WITH ONE ANOTHER - “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” (Eph. 4:2 ESV)
• BE LOVING - “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” (1 Cor. 13:4 ESV)

“The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid.” (Psalm 27:1 NIV)

FEAR: the feeling or condition of being afraid; the loss of courage in the presence or anticipation of danger; dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation.

Fear is a powerful tool of the enemy and God wants us to remain strong and courageous in the face of fear and to know God is present and will strengthen and uphold you. We are told not to fear 365 times in the Bible, one for each day of the year!

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa. 41:10 ESV)

God has given control over fear

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7 ESV)

Cast all your fears on Him

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV)

Therefore…

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 ESV)

“For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12 ESV)

Because of Jesus we have God’s favor

When Christ was born the angelic host announced to the shepherds that God would send "peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14 ). Another word for favor is grace, which is often defined as “unmerited favor”.

“And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

His favor wins battles

“For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them." (Psalm 44:3, NKJV)

He bestows favor and honor

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11 ESV)

His favor establishes the work of your hands

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17 ESV)

His favor is for a lifetime

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  (Psalm 39:35 ESV)

Because of His favor you have a hope and a future

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Her. 29:11)

Therefore…

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:31-33 ESV)

“And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16 ESV)

More of God?

Sometimes I hear someone say they want “more of God” but, I believe they are asking for what He has already given them through Jesus. The Bible says, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Col. 2:9 ESV) Therefore, if you have received Jesus, you already have also received His fullness! So, rather than asking for “more of God” surrender “more of you” to Him! Then study the Bible to become more enlightened about Him and what you already have in Him.

Know what you have

“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. (Eph. 1:18 ESV)

Mature through the knowledge of Him

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-13 ESV)

Therefore…

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:14-19 NASB)

“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.” (1 Cor. 3:9 ESV)

If you had the power to work closely with anyone in the world you would like, who would that be? Would it be someone famous like a movie star or a top athlete? Or maybe the president of the United States, or the King or Queen of a sovereign country? What if you had the ability to actually work for God Himself? Well, the truth of the matter is you are God’s fellow worker!

We are His workmanship

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10 ESV)

An unashamed and approved  worker

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15 ESV)

Always abound in God’s work

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58 ESV)

Therefore…

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:23-24 NLT)

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16 ESV)

The world’s definition of love

It has been said that you can find out how a people group thinks on just about any subject by listening to the songs they sing. The following is a sampling of American love song titles over the years. You’ve probably heard some of them and when you read the titles you will probably remember some of their words.

• Everybody loves my baby (1924)
• Love me tender (1956)
• To know him is to love him (1958)
• Baby Love (1964)
• You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling (1965)
• I think I love you (1970)
• Love Hangover (1976
• What’s love got to do with it? (1984)
• Justify My Love (1991)
• Crazy in love (2003)
• We Found Love (2011)
• Love lies (2017)
• The end of love (2018)

With so many strange songs about love, no wonder there is so much confusion about what love is. Frankly, human definitions about love are inadequate and misleading. The Bible defines love correctly.

The Bible definition of love

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NIV)

God alone is the source of love

“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 4:7-8 NIV)

God is love

God does not merely love; he is love. Everything that God does flows from his love.

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8 ESV)

God’s kind of love

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1 NIV)

He shows His love for us

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8 ESV)

Therefore…

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:37-39 ESV)