Love Like Christ

(by Lorie Codispoti)

According to the Christian History Institute there are several St. Valentines, who were all martyred about the same time in the third century.

First, we have the Valentine who aided Christians who were being persecuted. He was imprisoned, where he found faith in Christ and refused to deny Him. He was tortured, beaten with clubs and then beheaded. He was said to have written letters to his friends during that time that read, “Remember your Valentine.”

Second, there’s the legend of a Valentine who was martyred when he was caught secretly marrying couples so that husbands wouldn’t have to go to war.

And third, we read about the Valentine who was a priest that refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. From his prison cell he shared God’s love through his testimony. As a result of his prayers the jailer’s daughter was healed and on the day of his execution he left her a note that was signed, “your Valentine.”

There isn’t enough evidence to determine which Valentine our holiday was named after, but the common thread that stitches these hearts together is their love for Christ and a willingness to share that love no matter what it cost them.

Remember the characteristics of love in 1Corinthians 13…

Love is long suffering and kind. It doesn’t envy, parade itself, or puff up. It doesn’t behave rudely, seek its own, provoke, or think evil. It doesn’t rejoice in sin, but rather in the truth. It bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.

When you study the lives of these Valentine’s you will see that each one was willing: to bear things unpleasant - to believe that God had a plan - and to hope in something they couldn’t see. They were martyred for their willingness to endure the hardship this kind of love requires.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jesus - John 13:34-35)

If you peel back our culture’s shallow layers of fluffy tissue paper love, you will find that the gift bag is empty. This kind of “love” is short lived. The slightest wind of trouble will shred the superficial layers and blow the fragments in every direction.

Christ came to show us what true love looks like, and then leave us a gift. When we open His gift of a new heart we find that He enables us to love like He does.

Will it cost us something? Yes.

The question we need to answer is not about the price, however. The question we have to answer is are we willing to bear, believe, hope, and endure all things in order to show the world what the love of God looks like.

(GloryUsGate.blogspot.com)

None Like YOU

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Why are we surprised when pagans behave in an “Unholy” manner, all while the audience applauds and awards the evil on display?

Should we be repulsed that a song that glamorizes infidelity in order to “liberate queer joy” is honored, and its artists celebrated for their debased lifestyles? Yes.

Should we also be surprised by it? No. Not at all.

When I view some of our culture’s modern performances (many of which I can’t even stomach all the way through), the over-arching emotion it triggers is a deep-seated sadness. The kind of “joy” they describe is indeed queer. And being deceived into embracing a lie is called bondage, not liberation. To witness the level of depravity that a human being is capable of is truly heart breaking.

But, it is not surprising.

Without Someone to rescue us from ourselves we would all head down the path of self-destruction. Our vices will vary, but without Divine intervention the end result will always the same: destruction.

Scripture and history bear witness to this fact.

Jesus tells a story (Mtt.12 & Lk. 11) about a man who was delivered from an evil spirit. The spirit decides he wants to return to his former abode - only this time he brings seven friends that are more evil than himself, and they join him in the repossession party. Jesus noted that as a result this man’s current state was much worse than the former one, and that this is what it will look like in an evil generation.

If you read the parable you will see how Jesus goes from talking about one man’s house to predicting the state of a whole generation.

Messianic rabi, Jonathan Cahn, details the return of what he calls “the dark trinity” to a civilization who willfully turns away from God. In his book, The Return of The Gods (little g gods) he parallels the nation of Israel with our culture and identifies the three primary gods that they embraced when they foolishly turned from the God who rescued them, cleaned them up, and set them apart to be His people.

Cahn identifies this dark trinity and details their main objectives:

The Possessor - whose name is Baal (“owner”) - is the first entity who shows up to drive God out from among the people and persuade them to forget their God (Jer.23:27). His objective is to paganize God’s children (the cleansed house/man) by systematically removing Him from every influential aspect of life (the public square, homes, education, etc.).

The Enchantress - whose name is Ashtoreth (1Ki.11:5) - was known as the harlot goddess of sexual immorality. Her objective is to sexualize the culture by introducing them to pornography, removing sexual boundaries, and destroying/redefining biblical marriage. The spirit of this goddess transforms men into women and women into men. (Did you think the transgender lie and gender confusion was something new?)

The Destroyer - whose name is Molech (Lev.18:21, 2Ki.23:10) - was a god who required child sacrifices. Infants were burned alive to appease this god.


Is history repeating itself in our culture? Are we the generation Jesus was talking about as we witness the repossessing of a house once swept clean by the delivering grace of God? I think the answer is glaringly obvious.

But these gods don't have power over ours.

“Who is like You, oh Lord, among the gods?” (Ex.15:11a)

“Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours… You alone are God.” (Psa.86:8,10b)

God has no more given up on our culture than He did on Israel. He is still the one and only, capital “G,” God who rescues His children when they cry out to Him for deliverance.

While we witness “sin abounding,” we need not let it overwhelm us with discouragement. Why? Because of what the second part of the verse says - “grace does much more abound” (Rms.5:20). What this means is that although we are witnessing unrestrained sin, multiplying and expanding, the amount of grace available supersedes it. The Greek word describes this grace as “something that is growing out of measure, beyond proportion, and out of its banks to a far-stretched extreme.”

This goes right along with the fact that the Bible says that in the last days that the knowledge of God will increase, and that the wise will understand and be purified by it? (Dan.12:4,9-10)

Perfect timing, considering that we live in the Information Age. Before the 1900’s knowledge doubled every 100 years. Today it doubles daily.

Jesus said that before the end comes His Gospel will reach every nation. It is predicted that by 2043 the Bible will be translated into every language.

The call has not changed.

Jesus sent His disciples into a pagan world, and with the power of His Spirit they were to drive out the pagan gods by proclaiming the truth of the Gospel.

Christian, we carry that torch! The Spirit of the living God dwells within us, enabling us to drive out the pagan gods with the Light of the Gospel.

Christ is the only one Who can liberate the captives so that they can experience genuine joy.

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com