ALL IN A WORD

        

The meaning of “love” grows broader by the day. From what I have seen, it is the most used and abused word in the English language, aside from God’s name. What a paradox when you consider God is love! But the meanings of the three forms of love mentioned in the Bible — agape (as God loves), phileo (brotherly) and eros (fleshly) — do not include some of the meanings we attach to love. We love our new outfit, we love ice cream, we love to go shopping. Perfect examples of how the word is used and abused are in the songs and sayings we hear:

Love makes the world go ‘round

Love is a two-way street

Love the one you’re with

Love child

So how do we determine the real meaning of love? Even the dictionary fails to accurately define it. Webster describes it as strong affection or passion for someone or something. In my opinion, when the word “something” is included in the definition with “someone,” it cheapens the meaning. “Love” in a tennis game is defined as a score of zero. That’s what many of us feel we have scored when it comes to love — zero — but that’s another issue. The best definition I have found for love lies in I Corinthians 13. Romans 12 runs a close second. Colossians 3:12-14 is a good condensed description of love.

Love is not a passive word; it is an active word. Words alone, or feelings alone, or even words and feelings together do not portray love. Love is shown by actions. Words and affection are a bonus. Which husband portrays the most love: the one who says “I love you” 12 times a day and smothers his wife with affection but ignores her when she is sick, depressed, or has just washed off her makeup, or is it the one who stumbles at the words “I love you,”  shows little affection, but is there for his wife through thick and thin — supporting, encouraging, faithful, self-controlled and caring? I John 3:18 says, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

I John 3:13 warns us that our love may be returned with hate when we are dealing with the world. Even during these times we must remember the challenge God has set before us to “Love one another” (vs. 11). Before this can be attained, we must love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Lk. 10:27). Only then can we love our neighbors — including our enemies — as ourselves.

All of this is contained in a word best defined in The Word. God is the author of love; Jesus, His Son, is the perfect example of that love. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. 

—Becky Wall

LOVE WITHOUT MEASURE

WITHOUT MEASURE

God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to begin life in the womb of a virgin, to live a life of hardship and rejection, then to die as a result of being beaten and nailed to a cross, having no guilt. No one has ever shown greater love than this.

Just how big is God's love? According to Scripture, it fills the earth and is as high as the heavens are above the earth. (Ps. 103:11). No telescope is powerful enough to see that far. Every time a new, more powerful telescope is invented, it reveals more "heavens" past the ones already known. Space rockets traveling at super seeds over great distances are as if they had never left the ground when compared to the vastness of the heavens. God's love is infinite.

God's love is as far as the east is from the west. We can get in our cars and travel west for the rest of our lives and we will still be going west. We can travel east for the rest of our lives and still be going east. The two never really meet; they just go on forever, as does God's love.

His love not only goes back to the time before we were formed in our mothers' wombs, but before He formed the earth. His love is from everlasting to everlasting. It is without beginning or end.

It is as strong as death. Death is powerful because once it occurs, life is no longer possible. But God's love is actually stronger than death in that it overcame death through His Son, Jesus, so that we, too, can overcome the power of death.

Water cannot quench the fire of God's love; it is undying. Money cannot buy it; it is priceless. Works cannot earn it; it is a free gift. We have only to receive it. In fact, it is there whether or not we receive it.

It is up to us to show God's love through our attitude and actions, not as a duty, but because we love God Who first loved us.

—Becky Wall

 

INSEPARABLE

INSEPARABLE

(Based on Romans 8:35-38)

What in this world will keep me from God?

Shall peril, sword, tribulation?

Distress, angels, or nakedness,

Famine or persecution?

None of these things will separate us—

Things present, nor things to come.

Not powers nor principalities,
Heighth or depth or creatures who roam.

God and I are inseparable;

One could say we are joined at the heart.

And even when mine stops beating,

Death will not do us part.

Becky Wall

A MOTHER GIVES LIFE A CHANCE

The following article appeared in the May 8, 1994, issue of the Christian Standard:

MOTHER’S DAY is a day our nation has set aside to focus attention on motherhood—one of the least appreciated of all professions, yet one of the most instrumental in shaping the world. This occasion provides a special opportunity for children to honor their mother for sacrifices made on their behalf, and for fathers to turn their attention to the one who bore and nurtured their children.

Unfortunately, abortion has cast a dark shadow on this most honorable profession. Those of us who were born prior to the legalization of abortion may wonder if we would even be alive had abortion been legal when we were conceived. With this thought in mind, I’d like to recount one mother’s story. Her name is Eve.

Eve had just been married a short time when she discovered she was pregnant. They were poor, and so was the timing, but the couple accepted their fate and even looked forward to their firstborn. Although complications occurred with the delivery of their baby girl and Eve nearly died, they were as thrilled with their new creation as if she were God’s first.

Eve’s child was only three months old when she became pregnant again. So, one year and ten days from the birth of their first daughter, they welcomed another.

When her first two girls were only two and three years of age, Eve discovered she was pregnant again, this time with twins. But with help, they built another room and welcomed the twins--more girls--a month earlier than their due date. When she brought them home from the hospital, they were frail, blue, and wrinkly. No one, not even the doctor, gave them much hope. But Eve nurtured and loved them to good health. She now had four girls, ages four and under.

When the twins were two years old, the father’s sister (a single parent) died and left two homeless children, ages five and six. These children were welcomed into the family and the three-room home, and Eve proceeded to raise them as her own. Obviously a move became necessary, so they moved--several times.

Two years later, Eve conceived again. The couple joked that Eve always seemed to get pregnant in between his jobs. But, alas, this was no joke, so they were quite distressed at first. Nevertheless, they accepted the situation and had another girl.

Fifteen months later, with seven little ones already underfoot, Eve once more became pregnant. She was at the end of  her rope. They already had so many for which to care. Even though her husband had a steady job, they still couldn’t afford another child. The doctor had warned Eve not to have any more children because of her age and health. Nevertheless, she endured the pregnancy, and this time was blessed with a son and a namesake.

This mother is mine. She had every right by today’s standards to abort any one of her pregnancies, but she rose to each occasion clothed in the virtues of patience, self-sacrifice, and unconditional love. She was blessed with a sense of humor and was armed with a strong faith in God instilled in her by her own mother.

Perhaps by Providence she was given the name Eve, which means the mother of many, the giver of life. For this life I adore her, as do her other children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, not to mention our proud father. Her example is motherhood at its best, worthy of honor.

To all the mothers who have endured similar circumstances, I extend my respect and appreciation. One-third of my friends and peers would be missing without them, as is the case with each age group since Roe vs. Wade, which was made into law 25 years after my birth. Mother’s Day might be a good time to ask your mother to recount her own history of pregnancy and childbirth. Then ask her if she is sorry that she was not allowed a “choice.”

--Becky L. Wall

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."  Proverbs 31:28-29

I JUST CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT

I JUST CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT

(Psalm 71:15-18, Jeremiah 20:9, Job 32:17 - 33:3)

If I say I will not mention God,

Or speak anymore in His name,

When it comes to the love of my life,

My tongue I cannot tame.

For in my heart is a burning fire;

It is smoldering in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

The Spirit within me groans.

I too will have my say;

I will tell others why I live free.

For I am full of words,

And the Spirit within compels me.

Inside I’m like bottled-up wine,

Or new wineskins ready to burst.

I must speak and find relief,

From the words that are immersed.

I will show partiality to no one,

Nor will I flatter with ease,

For if I were skilled in flattery,

My Maker I would not please.

Now, listen to my words;

They’re on the tip of my tongue.

I’m about to open my mouth;

They are worthy to be sung.

My lips speak of what I know.

They come from an upright heart.

But the problem has always been,

I can’t shut up once I start.

Becky Wall

BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES

BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES

If beauty is your quest,

Or you want to change your look,

If you want the best of beauty tips,

Get them from the Good Book.

Your heart will make you lovely;

Kindness will shine from within.

You will act with grace and gentleness,

And wear a wholesome grin.

Beauty that is skin deep,

Will wash off or fade with age,

But beauty within is indelible;

Such beauty should be all the rage.

Christ can give any face a lift,

When the fruits of the Spirit are worn.

You will be truly transformed,

If the glory of God you’ll adorn.

Let Jesus light up your eyes;

You’ll be radiant--just you see.

His living water is the fountain of youth;

You will live for eternity

Becky Wall

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

(Matt. 6:25-34)

Don’t worry about life, said Jesus,

You shouldn’t have a care.

Don’t worry about what you’ll eat or drink,

Or even what you will wear.

Isn’t life more important than food,

And the body more important than clothes?

The birds of the air don’t sow or reap,

Yet what they need, the Father knows.

Are you not more valuable than they?

So why do you have such strife?

Who of you by worrying,

Can add a single hour to his life?

Why do you worry about clothes?

See how lilies grow without labor.

No one is dressed as fine as them —

Not even Solomon in all his splendor.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,

Here today and gone tomorrow,

Will he not much more clothe you,

You of little faith and much sorrow?

Do not worry saying, “What shall we eat?”

Or “What shall we drink or wear?”

For the pagans run after all these things,

God won’t leave you thirsty or bare.

But first seek his kingdom and righteousness,

Rest assured your needs are known.

Don’t worry about tomorrow,

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Becky Wall

SONRISE

(Based on Matt. 27:45-28 & I Cor. 15:54)

SONRISE

Jesus had been crucified;

Darkness filled the earth.

Three days thence it trembled;

The earth was giving birth.

An angel rolled the stone away,

Sonlight filed the skies.

Propheces were now fulfilled;

Finally came Sonrise.

Death no longer masters us;

The victory has been won.

Mourning turned to morning,

With the rising of the Son.

--Becky Wall

GIDEON: FROM A ZERO TO A HERO

GIDEON: FROM A ZERO TO A HERO

(Judges 6 and 7)

God’s people turned away from Him;

They were known as the Israelites.

So God allowed them to be,

Oppressed by the Midianites.

The Israelites called to God for help,

While hiding in mountain caves.

The Midianites were stealing their goods,

And treated them worse than slaves.

So the Lord needed a leader,

Whose strength was not of might.

He would ask the man He chose,

To instigate a fight.

An angel spoke to Gideon,

While he was threshing wheat.

He called him a Mighty Warrior,

Tho’ unlikely as one could meet.

Gideon stuttered with fear and doubt,

He knew God needed a hero.

He first thought, “I’m not the man,

For I am but a zero."

“My clan is considered the least,

And I am the least of the least.

I am not the one to ask,

To slay the men from the east.”

The Lord said “I will be with you;

We will do it together.”

Gideon was so amazed,

One could knock him down with a feather.

So Gideon said, “OK, I’ll go,

Just tell me where and when.”

Then Gideon gathered an army,

Of thirty-two thousand men.

But that was way too many,

At least it was in God’s eyes,

For when God is with an army,

It’s not about the size.

The Lord instructed Gideon,

To narrow the army down.

Ten thousand men were brave enough,

The rest returned to town.

But there were still too many,

So God put them through a test.

Three hundred passed unwittingly,

The Lord sent home the rest.

Armed with trumpets and jars,

And torches hidden within,

They were prepared for battle —

Just Gideon and 300 men.

The enemies they would face,

Numbered like grains of sand,

But an army of one is enough,

If the battle is in God’s hand.

Gideon saw the opposing army,

And lost his confidence.

But he was soon to get it back,

Not by chance, but by Providence.

He overheard a dream being told,

While he spied on the enemy nation.

That Gideon would win the war,

Was the enemy’s interpretation.

So Gideon found his strength again,

And his army set forth at night.

With trumpets, jars and torches,

Locked and loaded, they were ready to fight.

They followed God’s instructions,

And in unison gave a shout.

When they broke the jars and blew their horns,

Pandemonium broke out.

The enemies slew each other that day,

God’s army took care of the rest.

The least of the least defeated,

The so-called best of the best.

God was given the glory,

Why they won, there was no doubt.

For they had won a major war,

With a horn, a jar, a torch, and a shout.

--Becky Wall

JOSHUA DEFEATS JERICHO

JOSHUA DEFEATS JERICHO

(Joshua 5 - 6:25)

When Joshua was near Jericho,

A city in the Promised Land,

He looked up and saw a man standing,

With a drawn sword in his hand.

Joshua went up to the man,

And asked on which side was he,

The man replied “Neither.”

He was Commander of God’s army.

Joshua fell on his face in reverence,

Expecting something profound.

The man said, “Take off your sandals,

For you’re standing on holy ground.

Through the man, the Lord said to Joshua,

“I’ve delivered Jericho to you.”

The war had not yet been fought,

But now the time was due.

The Jerichonians were afraid;

They wanted to be left be.

They had heard the amazing story,

Of the parting of the Red Sea.

The city was walled and tightly shut up;

No one went in or out.

An ill wind was blowing their way,

Of that fact, no one had a doubt.

The Lord’s instructions to Joshua,

As Jericho before them lay:

March around it one time for six days,

And seven on the seventh day.

Seven priests were to carry trumpets,

In front of the ark of the covenant.

On the seventh day they would blow their horns,

As they marched in a circular movement.

When the army heard a long trumpet blast,

That was their cue to shout.

The walls would come crashing down,

And they could move freely about.

The seventh day was an all-day event;

For Jericho was large.

The noise had to be deafening,

A wise plan from the One in charge.

The loud blast caused vibrations;

Cracks formed in each stone block.

One could blame the rolling stones,

On the priests playing hard rock.

Rahab and her family were spared,

They were taken outside of the city.

For she had helped the Israelites,

In return, they showed her pity.

The Lord God loves a challenge;

He can always beat the worst odds.

And because the Lord is jealous,

He takes issue with other gods.

Becky Wall

Key words: #unconventionaldefeat #ObediencetoGod #Rahab #sevens #musicalinstruments

#trumpets