16 LAWS OF GODLY RELATIONSHIPS

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is
before all things, and in him all things hold together. An he is the
head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn
from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the
supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in
him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether
things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his
blood, shed on the cross....We proclaim him, admonishing and
teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone
perfect in Christ. (Col 1:15-20,28).
Life is all about our relationships; first of all with God, and then
with each other and everyone else we meet. We must know the basis
for our relationships in order to understand how we should relate to
God and to each other. The first few chapters of Rick Warren's
book "The Purpose Driven Life" provide a good summary; here are the
main points:
It all starts with God - "Everything got started in him and finds
its purpose in him." (Col 1:16) Without God, life makes no sense.
You are not an accident - "I am your creator, you were in my care
even before you were born." (Is 44:2) God never does anything
accidentally, and he never makes mistakes.
What drives your life? - Guilt? Resentment? Anger? Fear?
Materialism? Need for approval? "You, Lord, give perfect peace to
those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." (Is
26:3)
We are made to last forever - "This world is fading away, along with
everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live
forever. (I John 2:17)
Seeing life from God's view - "What is your life?" (James 4:14) A
circus? A minefield? A roller coaster? A puzzle? A symphony? A
journey? A dance? A carousel? A party? A race? A marathon? A battle?
A game? Life is a test, a trust and a temporary assignment. "Unless
you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large
ones." (Luke 16:10)
So if our life on earth is only temporary and is a preparation for
eternity - and scripture calls it a test - How is our life to be
graded?
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3).
God is love (1 John 4:16).
‘Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind', and ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself' (Luke 10:27).
Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29).
And now I will show you the most excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31).
Life is all about knowing God, experiencing his love through our
relationships with others. We can't experience God's love without
knowing God. We can't know God without sharing his love to everyone
around us (everyone we meet is a neighbor). God knew we are
incapable of experiencing and sharing his love without help, so he
came in the body of Jesus to show us how to experience and share his
love - and to have eternal life.
1 Cor 13 is an excellent description of what God's love is. Love
must have an object to be expressed. God demonstrated his love for
us by coming in the body of Jesus and sacrificing his life on the
cross. Jesus' life was a demonstration of God's love, and we can see
every attribute of love described in 1 Cor 13 manifested in the life
of Christ. Love is not an abstract concept, it is the nature of God
himself. We should model our relationships with others on how Jesus
demonstrated throughout his life. 1 Cor 13 describes the nature of
Godly relationships:
Love is:
1. Patient - keeping a good disposition even when others are
demanding and we have other things to do.
2. Kind - Affectionate, gentle, considerate - helping when you don't
need to, when the other person cannot return the favor.
3. Does not envy - We can rejoice when someone else is blessed
without feeling like we deserved it more than they.
4. Does not boast - When we call attention to ourselves, we are
claiming credit for what we should acknowledge as God's grace and
mercy.
5. Not proud - Pride is self-righteousness - pride is setting
ourselves above others.
6. Not rude - When we are condescending, offensive or discourteous,
we are saying "I don't need to talk with you - you aren't worthy of
my attention!"
7. Not self-seeking - When our motive is "what's in it for me?" we
are placing the other's welfare second to our own wants.
8. Not easily angered - It is possible to be angry and manifest
God's love (Jesus & the moneychangers) but if we are easily angered,
we are selfishly wanting everything our own way and reacting badly
when we don't get what we want.
Love:
9. Keeps no record of wrongs - God has forgiven us of every sin
we've confessed to him - how can we not forgive others?
10. Does not delight in evil - People will often cause harm to
others to accomplish some goal ("corporate ladder"), and in the
process deceive others to hide their actions. Love has no part in
this.
11. Rejoices with the truth - When we have nothing to hide, we can
be totally open with others - it is then we can rejoice with the
truth.
12. Always protects - Love quenches the darts of the enemy. When we
hear of accusations against a brother or sister, our response should
be to protect, i.e. "I don't think we have all the information to
judge this situation."
13. Always trusts - Love isn't suspicious, love has faith in others,
even when they've let us down before. Jesus said to forgive "seventy
times seven" times.
14. Always hopes - Love always believes for the best, even when
we've not experienced the "best" many times before.
15. Always perseveres - Love withstands adversity. Love doesn't give
up - ever.
16. Never fails - We aren't guaranteed happy endings. John the
Baptist was beheaded, Jesus was crucified, most of the apostles were
martyred. But, God is eternal, God is love, so there is no end to
God's love. God's love will carry us through any situation, even
when we don't like the outcome.
God came to us in the body of Jesus to show us how to experience and
manifest his love and have a relationship with himself. We can't do
it without God. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn
to experience and manifest God's love just like Jesus did.
Love is the core of having Godly relationships, both with our
heavenly Father and with everyone we meet (our neighbors).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to follow your example and share God's love with
each person I meet today. Help me to love you with all my heart, all
my soul, all my mind and all my strength-and help me to show your
love to each person I contact today.Amen. catcmo2006








ACCOUNTABILITY: God will judge our work: (2 Ch.19:5-10). Sin has Consequences (Ezek.18:20). God will hold us accountable for our sins (Ezek.18:30). We are accountable for every word we speak (Matt.12:36). Confronting others with their sins should be done in private (Matt.18:15). We should hold each other accountable (Lk.17:3). We are accountable for what we believe (Jhn.3:18). God holds Christians accountable (Ro.14:11,12). God will reward Christians for their good deeds ( 1 Cor.3:8). God will examine our actions (2 Cor.5:10). The Bible: Jesus Christ is the Highest Authority (Matt.28:18). The Bible is our Authority (2 Tim. 3:16). Attitudes: Bad Attitudes hurts our relationship with God (Gen.4:6,7). Bad Attitudes leads to poor decisions (Num.14:1-4). Always Trust God for Your Life (Prov.29:25). Choose A Postive Attitude ( Hab.3:17-19). God will Reward the Meek (Matt.5:5). God gives Christians a New Attitude ( Phil.1:20-25). We should imitate Jesus Christ'Attitude (Phil.2:5). Christians should Always Rejoice (Phil.4:4). Never be anxious (Phil.4:6,7). The Blood: Jesus Christ's Blood seals God's Relationship with His people (Matt.26:28). Jesus Christ's Blood allows us to have access to God (Ro.5:8,9). Christians are Redeemed by Jesus Christ' Blood (Eph.1:5-7). The Blood is Required for forgivness (Heb.9:22).