Live a Love Story: Oaks of Righteousness

Introduction

Oaks of Righteousness is a book in the Live a Love Story series that encourages others to walk out Jesus’s first and second commandments, love God and love people. However, we can only love the Lord and others with His help. Therefore, as we pursue His Presence and seek Him through the Word, we encounter more of Him. The process by which we seek and find God helps us to love Him and each other better. In this way, we get to live the love story of our dreams and fulfill our purposes on Earth because the goal of everything the Lord does in us, around us, and through us is geared toward improving how we love God and people. Therefore, this book aims to connect your thoughts to the Lord. Read this compilation of varying topics during your quiet time or in a group. Each lesson includes a quick snapshot of information and can serve as a conversation starter with the Lord. The goal is to provoke the reader to seek God and ask Him questions. The teachings can be read in any order, and as you study, remember Proverbs 25:2 NASB, 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to God,

my husband/editor, and my rabbits.

Thank you I.G., L.C., P.S., V.G.

For the Holy Spirit inspired conversations

that led to one of the topics in this book.

I dedicate Growing Pains to you.

Growing Pains

The Bible states that men and women become one flesh when joined in marriage. Although the Lord might see a husband and wife as one, the man and woman surely feel God’s hand as He perfects their union so that their marriage can glorify His name. In other words, married couples undergo a process of becoming one. No newlywed couple feels the same sense of unity as a man and woman who have faithfully committed themselves to God and their spouse for five, ten, or twenty years, for example. With the Lord’s help, each couple cultivates a relationship of intimacy as they do life together. The same is true for the church. Just as a married couple becomes one flesh and works with the Spirit to strengthen and grow their union, so does the body of Christ. The Lord Jesus desires the church to become one, just as Jesus is one with the Father.

John 17:21-23 NASB "²¹ that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me."

According to the Book of John, Christ spoke the scripture above during the Last Supper. Jesus knew that the time of His crucifixion drew near and chose to share His desire for believers to unite. The Lord wants to perfect our unity so that the world can accept Jesus as Lord, believe in His death and resurrection, and anticipate His return. So, how does the unification of the church help the world accept Christ as Lord?

Jesus wants believers to grow in unity with each other, in Him. Therefore, God desires that we become one with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and each other. Like marriage, there is a process by which we merge into one body by God’s grace. So, if Jesus is returning for a perfect bride, then it stands to reason that He will return to a unified church without spot or wrinkle. And as the church grows together as one, love will abound. Consequently, our willingness to die for our brothers and sisters in Christ will increase, and in this way, the church demonstrates the highest form of love.

John 15:13 NASB ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.

Consider these examples of unity. In the Book of Daniel, the Lord entered the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. God did not keep His servants from entering the fire. Instead, He entered the flames with them. Or consider Psalm 23, our Father walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. These examples illustrate the level of unity that we have with God. And so, just as the Lord draws near to the brokenhearted and walks with us during painful situations, He wants us to have that same unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our Father wants His children to walk through life’s storms together.

Ephesians 5:27 NASB ²⁷ that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Daniel 3:25 NASB ²⁵ He responded, Look! I see four men untied and walking about in the middle of the fire unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

Unfortunately, many of us grow distracted with trivial aspects of this life when compared to the level of love God calls us to walk in. Like Jonah, who cared more for a plant than an entire group of people, we get distracted by things that don’t matter. There should be nothing more important than loving the Lord and His people. But we need faith to lay our lives down for the sake of love. We need faith to believe we can do all things through Christ, like forgiving someone seventy times seven. Therefore, by faith, submit your life to Christ and choose to bear the burdens of others so that onlookers might see God’s love and receive salvation through Jesus.

Jonah 4:9-11 NASB ⁹ But God said to Jonah, Do you have a good reason to be angry about the plant? And he said, I have good reason to be angry, even to the point of death! ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, You had compassion on the plant, for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. ¹¹ Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?"

Luke 17:3-5 NASB ³ Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. ⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith!

Vessels of Wrath

The devil mimics or twists how the Lord operates. Just as our Father uses the people of God to establish His kingdom, heal the sick, and cast out demons, satan uses vessels to bring about his will. For example, the devil used a snake in the garden to entice Eve to sin. It’s unlikely the snake was the devil in a physical form because later we see how the Lord cursed the snake as an animal. God cursed the serpent in two parts. He first cursed the actual snake or vessel used by the enemy. Then, the Lord reminded the devil of his upcoming defeat through Christ. Therefore, the snake was likely a vessel satan used to do his will. And today, the enemy still desires to use whoever he can to carry out his plans.

Genesis 3:14-15 NASB ¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life; ¹⁵ And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel."

Satan was not initially given dominion over the Earth or its living creatures. The Lord gave man authority over the Earth and every creeping thing. Therefore, the devil cannot force anyone or anything to serve him. Satan could not force Eve to eat the fruit, nor could he make the snake do his bidding. The devil cannot force anything to turn away from the Lord, but he can present attractive options. Therefore, the snake submitted knowingly or unknowingly to the enemy’s agenda.

Genesis 1:26 NABS ²⁶ Then God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth."

The devil needs vessels that willingly submit to his authority or those that lack understanding of what God is doing. Consider Peter. After Jesus explained the difficult revelation regarding His suffering, Peter told the Lord Jesus that He would not have to endure the cross. Jesus responded by saying, Get behind Me, satan! In this case, the enemy attempted to derail Christ’s purpose through Peter. How did this happen? Jesus stated Peter’s mind was not on God’s purposes but on man’s. In other words, Peter lacked understanding of the Lord’s will and, therefore, the enemy used him unknowingly.

Matthew 16:21-23 NASB "²¹ From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. ²² And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You! ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.

So, how do we avoid being used by the enemy as a stumbling block? We must continuously lean into what God is saying and doing in Heaven to set our minds on the Lord’s purposes. Being heavenly-minded causes the citizens of Heaven to do what is good in the eyes of God. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the idea of perfection. No believer will behave perfectly, but the point is that we must remain consistent in our pursuit of Christ. Consistently pursuing Jesus will prevent us from being inadvertently used to expand the kingdom of darkness. And the only way we can continually seek the Lord is with His help.

All this is not to say that you should go back and analyze every misunderstanding you’ve ever had. Instead, allow yourself to receive the grace which our Father continuously extends. Remember, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. You may have been someone’s Judas at one time, but in being Judas, you ensured they made it to the cross. Although the role of the betrayer is necessary, you don’t have to remain a vessel of wrath. Today, let God’s love shine and be an instrument set apart for holy or honorable use.

Avoiding Pain

Although Lord of all, our Father allows Himself to feel positive and negative emotions. The Lord loves, regrets, experiences joy and sorrow, to name a few. It is interesting that God, knowing the outcome of all things, still allows Himself to feel negative emotions. For example, the Lord created man, knowing our actions would elicit anger, regret, and hate. He even made Himself flesh, in part, to relate to our humanity. And after all that our Father has suffered due to mankind’s actions, He still does not relent or shy away from a relationship with us. And therefore, with God’s help, we must love others like our Father in Heaven.

Proverbs 6:16 NASB ¹⁶ There are six things that the Lord hates, Seven that are an abomination to Him:

Genesis 6:6 NASB ⁶ So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Deuteronomy 1:37 NASB "³⁷ The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.

The Lord wants His people to walk in love even though we might suffer for it. And loving others well looks like laying down our lives for their sake. Biblical pain for the sake of love is not a concept similar to romantic comedies or abusive relationships. Instead, the people of God must submit to the Spirit as He leads us to the cross for His glory and the betterment of others. Every day, we must disregard our lives and carry the cross of love, knowing that the Spirit of Christ calls us to love others to the point of death. Now, the Word advises us to guard our hearts, but how we protect ourselves should not impede how well we love others. Guarding our hearts is not about avoiding pain but maintaining a watchful eye to ensure suffering does not harden us. Christ did not avoid the cross, and by His grace and power, we will not either.

Proverbs 4:23 NASB ²³ With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life.

John 15:13 NASB ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.

Only the Lord’s power can cause believers to continually and willingly lay their lives down for the same people who betray them. How many people would willingly befriend Judas without God’s help? We all naturally want to avoid the people we find difficult or hard to love, but realize that loving our betrayers will not just lead us to the cross but to glory. Remember, Christ would not have been raised in glory without Judas. Therefore, one way to experience God’s glory on Earth is to lay down your life or the totality of what you have to offer, and love your enemies.

We must continually seek His face so that He can help us love others. Like our Father, we too will experience the sting of betrayal, the sharp ache of a broken heart, and blood-boiling anger. However, unlike our Father, these emotions can tempt us to harden our hearts. Have you ever felt your heart grow callous toward someone because of how they treated you? There isn’t one answer on how to handle