30 Types of Love in Ephesians 5

30 Types of Love in Ephesians 5...
[Ephesians 5:2] And walk in love...

         
[Ephesians 5:20] Giving thanks always (A grateful love) for all things (A inclusive love) unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
         
[Ephesians 5:21] Submitting yourselves (A surrendering love) one to another (A mutual love) in the fear of God.
         
[Ephesians 5:22] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord (A Godly love).

[Ephesians 5:23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour (A “risk-all” love) of the body.
         
[Ephesians 5:24] Therefore as the church is subject (First Corinthians 7:3, 4 calls this a benevolent love) unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing (More inclusive love).
         
[Ephesians 5:25] Husbands, love (A command!) your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave (A sacrificial love) himself for it;
         
[Ephesians 5:26] That he might sanctify (A purifying love) and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (Love based on biblical precepts),

[Ephesians 5:27] That he might present (A giving love) it to himself a glorious (A glorious love) church, not having spot, or wrinkle (A pure love), or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (A love with no strings attached).
         
[Ephesians 5:28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies (A caring love). He that loveth his wife loveth himself (A love which builds self esteem).
         
[Ephesians 5:29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth (A nurturing love) and cherisheth (A precious love - emphasising value and worth) it, even as the Lord the church (A committed love):

[Ephesians 5:30] For we are members (A unifying love) of his body (A complete love), of his flesh (A growing love), and of his bones (A strong love).
         
[Ephesians 5:31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother (A love which considers priorities), and shall be joined (A bonding love) unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh (A physical love).
         
[Ephesians 5:32] This is a great mystery (a love we can’t explain): but I speak concerning Christ and the church (A spiritual love).
         
[Ephesians 5:33] Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself (this is in the singular: a faithful love [fidelity]); and the wife see that she reverence (A love of respect) her husband.”

© 2003 Lionel Hartley

The Beatitude of Gratitude

"The beatitude of gratitude is an attitude. Gratitude consists of more than the commonplace, hence gratitude is no platitude. Gratitude seeks all strata of society and thare for is no platitude in servitude. Gratitude is a deliberate act of precision, an exactitude in giving. Gratitude builds relationships to prevent solitude. In summary then, The primary beatitude is an attitude of gratitude which is no platitude in servitude, but an exactitude which prevents solitude."
--Lionel Hartley, The Beatitudes, Philadelphia Publications, 1977

Tarnishing Tarshish

Tarnishing Tarshish

 It is interesting how something ordinary can take on extra-ordinary significance, and yet this extra-ordinary significance can so easily be sullied, making the thing again ordinary (or less than ordinary). In Old Testament times, the ships of Tarshish were regarded as a symbol of beauty, strength and lofty ideals. Even ships going to Tarshish took on this same significance. The name Tarshish became also an epithet for any merchant vessel (as if for, to or from that Mediterranean Sea port - Tarshish ships were even made as far away as Eziongaber or Etsjon-Geber on the Red Sea-- 2 Chronicles 20:36).
Isaiah 2:16 even lists the ships of Tarshish in their symbolic beauty and loftiness along with one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Cedars of Lebanon.
2 Chronicles 9:21, Jeremiah 10:9, Ezekiel 27:12 and Isaiah 60:9 all refer to the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and other treasures. Ezekiel 27:25 and 38:13 even go so far as to suggest that praise from the merchants or ships of Tarshish is to be desired.
And yet, despite all this, Jonah, in a singular act of rebellion against God, changed this perception: 'But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD' (Jonah 1:3).
God has given us an earth-full of wonderful gifts, treasures to have and behold, ideals with which to aspire and good news to share. However, in our rebellion we quickly tarnish Tarshish.
The word tarnish comes from the French word 'ternir' from the root 'terne', meaning 'dark' and often refers to oxidation of surfaces due to misuse. Tarnish on many surfaces can be removed by polishing with denatured (methylated) spirit. We all have rebelled and tarnished many of God's glorious gifts. But it is not too late. We can still use God's Spirit to put a shine on these things and move us out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9).

-- Lionel Hartley, FreEzine Magazine, Issue 33 Vol 4 # 3  March 2003

Tarshish is now Turdetania in south-western Spain

Ezekiel 27:25 (KJV)  The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

Having a handicap

Having a Handicap.
I sit writing this, I reflect on a question that I was asked this very day regarding coping with what he described as 'a handicap'. Here is how I truthfully answered the enquirer. "Many decades ago when I was a child at primary school, I would rather read than participate in sporting activities. However at the school's annual sports carnival, running races were mandatory for all students. My teacher, a Miss Pierre, realised that I would be unlikely to run competitively against my classmates who spent every opportunity at recess and lunchtime to run and play in the school playgrounds while I sat and read books. So Miss Pierre took me to one side and said, 'Lionel, today for your race I am giving you a handicap.''What's that?', I asked.'It's a head start! When I start the race I will tell you to go first and then I will blow the whistle for the rest of the class to start running.'Well, I still came in last in the race, but I have always remembered that to have a handicap is to have a head start."
-- Lionel Hartley (Reprinted from an editorial written 3rd July 2005)

Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank, Part 14

Episode 14: Theology For Peter
Peter had been married almost a year, had ceased employment, and was attending a church camp, uncertain of the direction for his future. He had a number of options, one of which was returning to study, perhaps obtaining a degree in theology. However to seek that option would require perhaps a further $1000 more than he had saved. He considered completing an earlier interrupted teaching diploma. These and other possibilities were discussed often with his wife, Mary, but still a definite direction was illusive. The local Church Conference President was a close friend and, on Christmas Eve Peter sought an opportunity to share prayer with him and seek counsel. The wise pastor listened patiently as Peter shared the possibilities he and his wife had discussed. Then his counsellor suggested something rather strange. He asked what was preventing Peter doing what he believed God wanted him to do. Assuming it to be obtaining a theology degree, he mentioned the need of a further $1000. The pastor immediately suggested that if that was all he needed then he could determine God's will by testing out the Lord.  With them praying about it together, yet neither mentioning it to any-one else, Peter would challenge God to show him how he could raise $1000 within the following week IF God wanted him to pursue that option.
Peter didn't have long to wait for an answer, for the very next day, a Godly relative was sharing Christmas Dinner with them in their caravan. "What are you doing next year, Peter?" she asked as the meal concluded. "I'm not sure yet," he replied, "perhaps I'll do some further study."
"That'll be expensive with a family to care for as well." she mused. "I've put aside some money I'm willing to contribute if you choose theology;" she ventured, and then quickly added, "One thousand dollars!"
Needless to say, Peter considered it an answer to prayer and a little more than a month later was attending his first theology lecture.
Although God was moving his life, the lesson for Peter is not finished yet.


-- Lionel Hartley, Not Finished Yet -- Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank
"This serial saga, although novel, is not a novel. It is merely a series of true-life episodes highlighting the extraordinary working of an extraordinary God in a very ordinary life. Each episode contained a lesson for Peter Blank, a lesson we can all learn, from a lesson-book life that is not finished yet."
As first appeared in FreEzine Magazine July 2000 ff

Hidden Treasures

These hidden treasures are found by reading the verse and selecting each letter of each word only in the order that they were written. The words are chosen to describe what the verse is saying to you.
This exercise is to encourage you to read the verse many times and to look for the deeper personal meanings.
It is not an appropriate method of building theology.

Valentine:
For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
his onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.'
John 3:16

Phrase: Goodness to us all
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Here are some more that I found: God’s Valentine; God loves even me!; God loved even Satan; God loves you all; Great Love; Eternal life; Forever; Good Hope; Love divine; Great Trust; Faith in Him; God gave to us life; Favourite; Greater honour; God’s love is so true; The world sees that wonder; Will I have everlasting life?; Glory to who ever believes; God invites all.

-- Lionel Hartley Feb ©2009

Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank, Part 13

Episode 13: The Hitch-hiker
Peter was planning the return to the land of his birth. His bride-to-be, also born in that same land, was to follow some months later. They decided that the bulk of her luggage, which was in storage, could be air-freighted along with Peter's luggage to save her the burden of organising it later in the year. A taxi-truck was duly rented and the cabin trunk and boxes were delivered, along with Peter and Mary, to the Air Cargo depot in one of the outer suburbs of the city.
Peter and Mary felt a little anxious as the items were weighed. They only had limited funds, some which would be required for their return journey from the city. They prayed silently as the scales creaked under the weight of their parcels. The depot attendant asked how much they anticipated paying. A chin-scratching "Hmmmm" followed their reply, and he sighed, "I'll see what I can do."
A few minutes later he smilingly announced that, due to a reclassifying the luggage as household effects, the amount they had suggested would be the exact amount he would receipt for them.
Peter and Mary had gone to the suburban depot in a taxi-truck -- they now had to find a way back to the Central Railway Station in the heart of the city. They felt their best option would be to walk the several kilometres to the International Airport and travel from there to the Central Railway Station on the Airport Shuttle Bus.
As they waited to cross a busy intersection, Peter jokingly pointed out a 'bus to Mary which had the word AIRPORT emblazoned across the front. Peter's pointing digit had apparently caught the eye of the driver who, it seems, mistook it for a gesture for him to stop. He signalled a reply, to the effect that he would wait for them on the other side of the intersection.
They boarded the 'bus and were immediately directed by the driver, without verbal interchange, to jostle to the back of the 'bus. In bewilderment, they did so, but were even more surprised when the 'bus failed to turn off at the side road to the airport, but proceeded immediately into the city and stopped outside the Central railway Station. Amid the clambering passengers they made their way to the front of the 'bus. The driver was nowhere to be seen! A perambulated circuit around the 'bus revealed the driver, an Oriental gentleman, unloading suitcases from the stowage area under the 'bus. Upon asking how much they owed for the journey, he said, "You hitch-hikers. No pay!"
With gratitude they made their way to the relevant platform and caught a much earlier train than was originally planned, thanking God once again for attending to the minutest detail.
However, the lessons for Peter are not finished yet.


-- Lionel Hartley, Not Finished Yet -- Chronicles in the Life of Peter Blank
"This serial saga, although novel, is not a novel. It is merely a series of true-life episodes highlighting the extraordinary working of an extraordinary God in a very ordinary life. Each episode contained a lesson for Peter Blank, a lesson we can all learn, from a lesson-book life that is not finished yet."
As first appeared in FreEzine Magazine July 2000 ff