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The Forms of Love

17 Sep
The Forms of Love

As we continue through 1 Peter, he’s now giving us the exhortations that develop leadership character in our walk with the Lord. In my last post, I talked about the ability to pray effectively. Now Peter moves forward.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 NIV

Now the apostle talks about something that’s above all. Before you do anything else, you must learn to love. That’s the agape love of God. It’s the non-emotional choice to positively participate in the lives of others.

But more than that, as leaders, we must love deeply. This means that it must be done intently, fervently, and without ceasing. As believers, we must learn to love one another.

This will be the greatest need of the church as we get further into the last days. This means not just showing love by our words. There must be a willingness to participate in each other’s lives.

That’s how the world will know we’re His disciples. Not loving by emotion, but by our actions.

Peter tells us that this is because love covers over a multitude of sins. Sin is missing the mark. You can miss the mark in a lot of things. But if you’re known for your love – it covers a lot of the other areas where YOU miss it.

Along those same lines, Peter tells us…

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Peter 4:9 NIV

This concept of hospitality is important for us as believers. It seems to be a lost art in the body of Christ. He literally says we must be alien lovers. That’s the word the Greeks used for being fond of guests.

The Lord wants us to learn to become hospitable. For too long we viewed the church as “that building.” I see a trend taking place. Because of world events, the church is moving back into homes.

There have been burnings, attacks, and anger. Many times, we’re labeled as “Right-wing extremists”.

Look at the early church. According to Acts 2, believers devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:46b-47 NIV

Notice how Peter says they met together in their homes – without grumbling.

“I’ll let people in my house, but I won’t be happy about it.”

In actuality, the house owner receives a special blessing. Hospitality is a big way that we can show love to one another.

Question: How well do you show hospitality?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2025 in Fellowship, Leadership, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Holiness Develops Love

17 Mar
Holiness Develops Love

We’re continuing our walk through Peter’s first letter to the church. He’s been talking about holiness and the fear of the Lord. Now the apostle goes a little deeper.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22 NIV

Peter is desiring for us to develop love for one another. This is an important teaching for us to hear. That’s because this generation has a notable lack of love. We’ve become very self-centered.

Love is the choice to put others first. It includes the choice to truly fellowship. I’m not talking about simply meeting together for church.

We’re talking about the true love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. It’s the choice to participate positively in the lives of others.

The key to producing this true love is right here in these verses. If you look closely, before he ever deals with love Peter says, “Now that you have purified your soul in obeying the truth through the spirit…”

That’s the foundation of the love we share as believers. It’s the goal of purifying ourselves. It means we desire to be made holy, set apart to the Lord for His use.

Here is the key. The foundation of true love is holiness.

Remember what Jesus said when He was asked what was the greatest commandment.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV

The first step is loving God which leads to holiness. So, if you truly loved yourself you would walk in God’s way. That leads to the ability to love others

Peter had to enlarge this in his second letter.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV

Notice that verse 5 & 6 get you to godliness (holiness). Then it takes godliness in order to step over into brotherly love. This is the first love in 1 Peter 1:22. He calls it a sincere love for your brothers. That’s literally an unpretended brotherly love.

Please understand that brotherly love is the emotion of liking someone as a friend. Until you develop godliness, you must pretend to like others. Believe it or not, we must pretend to love until godliness is developed.

The problem in the church is that we don’t even pretend to like one another. But isn’t that hypocrisy? No – it’s obedience! That’s because we’re headed toward agape-love, which is choosing to love even when you don’t feel like it.

That’s what Peter is saying here. Now that you’ve developed godliness, you don’t have to pretend anymore.

“I don’t like these people.”

Well, that means you still need to mature some more. That’s because mature holiness causes you to like others. I’ve made the choice to love; then God starts to change my heart. I start to become like Him.

Question: How have you seen this love developing in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 17, 2025 in Fellowship, Ministry, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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The Fear of the Lord Part 2

12 Mar
The Fear of the Lord Part 2

I’ve been going through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post I took a side trip to talk about the fear of the Lord. That was based on Peter’s statement about the work of holiness in our lives.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

We saw that the lord judges our works, not on the appearance, but on the quality. That’s more about the motivation that was involved. Good works may impress people, but God looks at the heart.

The way we learn about motivations is how well we serve the Lord when no one is looking.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

I keep emphasizing the fact that the fear of the Lord is more than simply a reverence before Him. This verse makes that point abundantly clear. When Paul uses the word “trembling”, he’s obviously going way beyond reverence.

However, we need to know how this fear should work in our lives. Remember, we’re not talking about being afraid of God. That’s not how He works. The Lord doesn’t want you to serve Him because you’re afraid that He’ll blast you if you mess up.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:15-16 NIV

The clear teaching of Scripture tells us that we’re not to be slaves to fear. Some Christians mess this up – they let fear control them. As I said in my last post, what we should be afraid of is messing up the relationship we have with Christ.

This fear is of the loss of some of the good things we have in Christ. It’s like a loving parent who tells their child, “Clean your room or you’re not going to your friend’s party tonight.” The child doesn’t fear the parent, but missing the party.

How does that work in us as believers?

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I John 4:18 NIV

Fear has to do with punishment. That’s the same with the fear of God. Like all children – we don’t want to be punished. Too many preachers and teachers focus judgment and punishment.

The judgment of God is an important truth. But the fact is, God would rather reward our obedience than deal with disobedience. And here’s the beauty of it.

“Love drives out fear”

NOOOOOO!!

It’s perfect love. Mature love. That drives out fear. As a child, in becoming mature, I learn better and better to obey. So, the older I get, the less fear of punishment I have. As my love matures, don’t work because of fear, but because I’m part of the family.

The bottom line is that as love matures, our misplaced fear decreases.

Question: How have you seen this love maturing in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2025 in Faith, Legalism, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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Your New Clothes (Part 4)

29 Jan
Your New Clothes (Part 4)

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul talks about our spiritual clothing in Christ. In my last few posts I talked about some of these. I spoke last time about bearing with and forgiving one another.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14 NIV

Paul now tells us that the bottom line of how we treat one another is love. There’s no way around that. He says that love is the glue that holds all these pieces together.

Usually, we like to teach everything separately. I did that over the previous posts. We looked at compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness. But the fact is that none of these virtues exist in a vacuum. Love makes them work in unity.

However, love is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts among Christians. Of course, that’s to be expected in our society. The media throws that word around with no clue as to what they’re talking about.

The love that Paul talks about is the Greek word, agape, which has a very specific meaning. This is not something that you can just do by accident. It has to be a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

Probably the best description given was by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. If you’re able, you should read through it before continuing with this post. Let me quote a small section for you.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Think about what this passage is saying. Especially in the light of what Jesus told us. He commanded us, as His disciples to love one another (John 13:34-35). That statement alone should show us the fallacy of the world’s view of love.

This kind of love has nothing at all to do with our emotions. It’s purely a choice that we make in our treatment of others. It also includes action. It’s impossible to love this way by simply saying it or thinking it. God’s kind of love has to be visible.

But what do I really have to do to show love to someone? By looking at the above verse, it’s clear that there’s a group of people I actually want to treat like this. They’re my friends. I want to show them how much I like them.

There you have it; love means that you treat everyone as if you like them, whether you do or not. After all, isn’t that the teaching that Jesus left us with?

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Luke 6:27-28 NIV

This is why we need the power of the Holy Spirit operating in us. Loving our enemies is not natural to our human make-up.

“I love them, but I just don’t like them.”

Wait a minute. I didn’t tell you the best part of all this. Not only do you have to treat everyone as if you like them – even your enemies, there’s more. You have to treat them this way whether they’re physically present or not.

After all, you wouldn’t gossip, slander, or speak evil about a friend of yours. Love deals with the total package of how we treat others. Whether they know about it or not isn’t the issue. The God kind of love is a lifestyle.

This is why Paul tells us that it’s the binding agent for all the other virtues in our Christian walk. We need to spend quality time in the Father’s presence. That’s the only way to let Him cultivate His love in us.

Question: How well do you see God’s love operating through you?

© 2024 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2024 in Fellowship, Power of God, Relationships, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Growing Faith and Love

08 Nov
Growing Faith and Love

In my last post we started looking at Paul’s letter to the Colossian church. He was commending them for the faith and love that was manifest in them.

…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

Colossians 1:4-6a NIV

In these verses, Paul shows us where this faith and love comes from. If we want to walk in them, then it will be no different for us. There are two things that cause faith and love to spring up in us.

We’re told that they come through the hope of what’s reserved for us in Heaven. In order to understand this, you need to know what the word, hope, means in the Scripture. It’s not talking about a blind wishful thinking.

In our society we say things like, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” It has no basis in fact. We’re simply voicing what we’d like to happen.

That’s not biblical hope. The Greek word used in Scripture means an expectation. It’s something that, based upon God’s Word, we fully expect and look forward to. In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about these as eternal qualities.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

When we walk in the expectation of what God will accomplish, then faith and love are the natural results. But how do I get that kind of expectation?

Paul reminds them that they received it when they heard the Word of truth from the Gospel. This is key to us walking in the hope of what’s reserved for us in Heaven.

As we sit under anointed preaching and teaching, we hear Good News. We receive something we’ve never had access to before. As it does its work in us, hope – the expectation of God’s grace – is born in us.

Then, when we learn what our calling is all about, we walk in the faith and obedience to that Word. But, more than that, calling is about ministry to others. God starts to place a love in our hearts for the people around us.

This is what the Colossian Christians experienced. They learned to listen to, believe, and obey God’s Word. It’s how we should follow in their footsteps.

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.

Colossians 1:6b NIV

Paul makes it clear that it’s the Word of truth in that Gospel that produces fruit. It’s not my good intentions, will-power, or work ethic. The fruit of the spirit can only come as a result of the Word working in me.

This is why it’s so important to hear godly, anointed preaching and teaching. And it’s not just a matter of hearing it. You need to lay hold of the truth. You must come to the point of understanding how it applies to your life.

That’s where the blessing of faith and love is born. When we hear, understand, and obey the Word of God, a whole new world of spiritual growth opens up to us.

Question: How have you seen faith and love grow in your life?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on November 8, 2023 in Faith, Ministry, Power of God, Relationships, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel, Word of God

 

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Colossians Begins

06 Nov
Colossians Begins

In my last post, I finished my series on Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. I’ve been systematically going through the New Testament in the order that the Holy Spirit revealed it to the church.

I started with the four foundational books – James, First Thessalonians, Galatians and Mark. The next thing on the Holy Spirit’s agenda was to inspire books that dealt with our personal walk with the Lord. These books include Second Thessalonians, First and Second Corinthians, Romans, and Luke.

After that, the Lord gave us books dealing with our corporate walk. We need to understand life as a church. These epistles are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

The end of the book of Acts finds the Apostle Paul standing trial at Rome. This was his first Roman imprisonment. It seems that he had his own apartment while under house arrest.

It was during this time that these books were written. They are also called the prison epistles. It probably gave Paul a lot of time reflect on what it means for the body of Christ to be a living organism. We’re not just a social organization.

In this post I’ll start the book of Colossians.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints…

Colossians 1:1-4 NIV

Paul starts this letter with a commendation for the church. They’re obviously doing something right in their walk with the Lord.

The apostle says that he’s heard throughout the church community that the Colossians are known for their faith and love. That’s a big plus. Actually, it’s what we all should be striving for.

That’s because these two things, faith and love, are the two non-negotiables in the kingdom of God. Throughout the Scripture we see the command to have both of these in place.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

It’s not just hard to serve God without faith – it’s impossible. Also, it’s not simply enough to believe in God. You have to grasp a faith that sees His way as the best way of life. There’s no way to please God without this kind of faith.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV

Just as important, is love. The Bible makes it clear that even if you have faith, without love you are nothing. You must have love and faith working together to serve God acceptably.

That’s why Paul’s commendation of this church is so good. They’re operating as the body of Christ should be.

Question: How do you see faith and love at work in your Christian walk?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2023 in Encouragement, Faith, Ministry, Relationships, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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United Together

06 Sep
United Together

We’re currently studying Paul’s letter to the Philippian church. In my last post we saw Paul’s assumption concerning our life in Christ. Now the apostle shows us the results of these things.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Philippians 2:1-2 NIV

If verse 1 is at work in you (I talked about those in my last post) then these things should be the result. The apostle was rejoicing at the thought of the church living on this level of ministry. We should be striving for the same things.

Being like-minded. This means that we have the same view of things. It’s all about our agreement. This is something that gives power to a ministry.

Too often we see churches that are a conglomeration of warring factions. Each one is trying to outmaneuver the other. That’s not the way things should be.

If we have the same view of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit, then we should be able to work together in harmony. There doesn’t need to be total agreement on every subject, but submission to God’s plan should be the number one priority.

Having the same love. The same as what? I believe that this is referring back to verse 1. That verse talks about His love, meaning the love of Christ.

We need to walk in that same agape love that Jesus manifested. If you remember from my last post, I talked about the Lord’s love persuading us. The more I learn of His love, the more I love like Jesus did.

It seems to me that this is something we lack in this generation. When I see the discussions online, I wonder where the love is sometimes. Doctrine without love is never correct. People should be able to see our love in spite of any doctrinal differences.

Being one in spirit. This is actually a poor translation of what Paul said. The word, spirit (pneuma) is not in this verse. It’s the word, soul (psuche) that the apostle uses. So, in essence, he’s telling us to be co-souled. (Yes, I made up that word, but it’s what Paul said!)

The Lord wants the church to look like it has one soul. That’s why I’m against a church being run by democratic voting. It should be based upon prayer, and a consensus of what God is speaking to His people. If there is sharp disagreement, then that’s a sign that more prayer is needed.

The one mind that this talks about is not our humanity. It’s being in submission to the mind of God. That’s harder to do. It’s easy to take a vote. It’s more inconvenient to seek the heart of God’s will.

Being one in purpose. Of all the things on this list, that’s by far the toughest to accomplish. The word, purpose, means our thought process, opinions, and interests. This doesn’t just happen overnight. And, it for sure doesn’t happen by argument and debate.

It’s all about what I taught in my last post. That was how Paul led into this whole subject. There’s only one way that individual people can have the same purpose. We must submit to the coaching of the Holy Spirit, the persuasion of Christ’s love, the participation with the Holy Spirit, and a passion for God’s will.

As long as we want to walk in our own wisdom, the world will never be affected. This was the prayer of Jesus right before He went to the cross.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

John 17:20-23 NIV

That prayer says it all. We need to have that same devotion to Christ. Then, the world will be drawn to the cross.

Question: What will it take for the church to reach this level of unity?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2023 in Anointing, Fellowship, Ministry, Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Relationships, Revival, The Church

 

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How Love Grows

25 Aug
How Love Grows

We’re continuing through the book of Philippians. Paul is able to open up his heart to these people.

God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:8 NIV

This church had a special place in Paul’s heart. They were one of his greatest supporters. He loved to fellowship and worship with them. The love he had for them was very emotional.

As a result, they were constantly in his prayers.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11 NIV

Paul’s prayer for them was that they would abound in love. Love is relationship. He wanted the depth of their relationship with the Lord and each other to grow in a big way.

Obviously, this was a church that knew how to love. They had a love for one another and for the lost. However, even loving people can experience growth in their area of strength. This should be a lesson to us in how our love is to grow.

The first area is in our knowledge. That’s simply the learning of facts. If you love someone, God included, you want to know as much as you can about them.

That’s a big problem in many relationships. A couple stops relating to each other. Then, after years of no communication, they say, “I don’t know you anymore.”

A relationship grows as we learn more and more about each other. With God, there’s no end to learning about Him. We’ll never know all there is to know of His ways.

The next area of growth is depth of insight. This is a tough one to describe. It means a total perception of who the other person is. This includes both the physical senses and the mind.

That’s why when a couple gets very close to each other, it’s like they can read each other’s mind. They know what they’re thinking and what they’re about to say or do.

With my wife and I, a common phrase that comes up is, “I knew you were going to say that!”

Of course, when it comes to God, this should be our goal. We should want to think His thoughts. We want His goals to be our goals. That’s a healthy relationship with the Lord.

According to the above verses, the goal of this growth is to be able to discern what is best. That literally means that you approve of your transport to a higher level of walk. That’s not just understanding good and evil, but an agreement with God’s direction and plan for your life.

That in itself is great, but what I consider the best part of what the Apostle wanted for them is that they be filled to overflowing with the fruit of righteousness. Where could they obtain this fruit? It only comes through Christ.

The Apostle John saw the tree of Life in his vision of the Revelation. He describes it as being in our future, eternal home.

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:2b NIV

Because of our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, we have access to the tree of life right now. We don’t have to wait until we die or the Lord returns. It’s available to you today.

Do we really understand the power of that statement? We can have unbroken fellowship with the God of the universe – Creator of Heaven and earth! He will allow His power to work through us. His life will be our strength. What greater gift could we ever ask for?

Question: How do you access this life?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2023 in Fellowship, Power of God, Prayer, Relationships, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Applying the Breastplate of Righteousness

05 Jul
Applying the Breastplate of Righteousness

In my last post, I showed how the Breastplate of Righteousness was given to us to protect our hearts. That’s the good ground of our life. It’s where we plant the good seed of the Word of God.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we’re told to put on the full armor of God. That means it’s a choice I have to make. The first thing we need to understand is what this righteousness is.

In the Bible, we’re told about two kinds of righteousness and both of them are important. First, there’s the position of righteousness. That means I’m declared righteous simply because I’m in Christ and He’s my righteousness.

Because of this position of righteousness, I can go into the presence of God whenever I want. Whether I need forgiveness, or simply want to praise and worship the Father, I have 24/7 access to God’s throne.

I praise God for the position of righteousness that we’ve been granted in Christ. However, that’s not the righteousness that protects our ground. The breastplate speaks of the walk of righteousness.

How does the walk of righteousness protect my heart? In the natural, Scripture talks about the enemies that invaded Israel and ruined their fields. Fire, drought, foxes, stones, salt, weeds, locust, and hail were all causes of crop failure.

In our walk with God, we’re warned to be careful not to form intimate relationships with unbelievers. We’re told that bad friendships corrupt good character (1 Corinthians 15:33). By becoming intimate with the world you’re opening up yourself for a broken heart – rocky, stony soil.

When your walk is not right before God, you have an open, unprotected heart. If you remember, a few posts ago I showed that the armor wasn’t Paul’s invention. There’s a word picture of God wearing His armor in the Old Testament.

Knowing this, Paul described what the breastplate consists of.

But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
1 Thessalonians 5:8

The first thing Paul talks about here is self-control. You may not want to hear this, but it takes self-control to put on the breastplate.

The word, self-control, in this verse, is not the same as the fruit of the spirit. This Greek word means to be sober, not drunk. We can’t be so intoxicated with the world that we miss God’s best.

Then, Paul gives us a closer look at this breastplate. He tells us that it’s comprised of a combination of faith and love. Walking in faith and love is the completion of your righteousness before God.

It should be obvious how this works. I must choose to trust God. I must choose to love God. This is a daily choice, to walk in righteousness. It’s a faith-love walk.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6

In the New Covenant, circumcision is all about the rules of men. The reality is that in Christ rules don’t count for anything. Only a walk of righteousness matters.

This verse talks about being in Christ Jesus. That’s where you have to be to use the armor. This passage literally says that in Christ…the only thing that has force is faith, energized and made effective, through love.

How does this protect my heart? When you walk in the combination of faith and love, you’re placing a “force field” of righteousness around your heart. Your ground is protected, and you can expect your spiritual seed to grow unhindered by the enemy.

Question: What evidence do you see of faith and love working together in your life?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on July 5, 2023 in Faith, Ministry, Revival, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Mutual Submission Part One

12 Jun
Mutual Submission Part One

We’re continuing through the book of Ephesians. We’re coming to the part where many use it to force others to do their will. That’s not the intent. Listen carefully to how the apostle begins this section.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21 NIV

This verse literally says to place yourselves under one another in the fear of God. That’s where it starts. God is the one in charge. I’m submitting myself to His authority.

Then, no matter where He places me, I’m under His care. The Lord is still on the throne. I don’t have to worry or get upset about what others are doing. I have to make sure my attitude is right.

Paul then talks about different areas of submission.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:22-24 NIV

I know that there are many husbands who use this to demand absolute obedience in their homes. Is that really what this is saying?

The key question is, how does the church submit to Christ? How do you submit to Christ? The fact is that Jesus doesn’t show up at your door demanding you to do something. Then, if you don’t follow through, does He scold you for your disobedience?

That’s not how our Lord operates. He lets us know what His desire is for us. But then, it’s up to us whether we pursue it or not.

Of course, many times husbands will ignore the next part. I think it’s the most difficult to accomplish.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV

This is a hard road to follow. As a husband, I need to see the example of Christ and the church. Then, I must live it out the way Christ does.

What does this mean? Think about it. How is the Lord perfecting His church? Does He use yelling and tantrums when He doesn’t get His way? Absolutely not.

Right now, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for His church. He is speaking the Word of God over us. This is the path that a good husband must take.

How much time do you spend in prayer for your family? That’s what it comes down to – time spent in prayer. That’s where we have to lay down our lives.

There are so many other things we want to do. Playing sports or video games can take up a lot of our time. How important is our family to us?

In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:28-33 NIV

This section says it all. If I’m not giving up something, then I’m not following through with this. A great husband and wife relationship requires a form of submission from both parties.

I can say that my wife and I have been married for over 40 years. This is what keeps us together and happy through whatever comes our way.

Question: How well do you submit to Christ?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on June 12, 2023 in Prayer, Relationships, Spiritual Walk

 

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