Lovable versus lovely

Seldom are we are ¹truly lovely but we are always lovable and even adorable in the eyes of God.

There is something about us that is worth adoring. 

Not only so but we have the capacity to experience and enjoy adoration i.e. to be adored.

What is it about us that is worth loving and adoring? At a minimum -- at our worst and even in our greatest state of rebellion -- we are like God in that we still have the capacity to display something of who he is and what He's like as the ultimate person worthy of all adoration i.e. our capacity/ability to be loved and adored makes it possible for us to be lovely and adorable because we are like God, who is lovely and adorable. 

As His image bearer, we have the capacity to experience and enjoy love and adoration and respond to Him in love and adoration. In fact, in order to love and adore him as much as possible, in such a way that even comes close to his true and full worthiness of all our adoration, we had to have the innate capacity to be loved and adored. 

We are designed to be in a reciprocal relationship with God to receive his love and adoration and respond in kind.  And in so doing we put God on display for others to see and be drawn to him. This capacity - only given to us by God and ²not lost in our rebellion - is what makes us lovable, adorable and of great worth to God and others. 

Nothing else fits who we are 

Finding love and adoration apart from and outside of God is not sufficient. Anything less than the love and adoration of God -- receiving these from and reflecting them back to him -- simply will not do. No substitutes will work because there is nothing else like God -- i.e. There is only one God who is the most lovable and adorable, who created all things and on which all things depend. 

It also fits who He designed us be. We were made to be in a love relationship with this all loving, wise and powerful being called God. Why is the giving and receiving of love and adoration significant? These are core to God's being as Father, Son, and Spirit who love and adore each other and we are like him so we too might take part in this triune community of love, beauty, and overflowing joy that is core to who God is.

He is the most lovely and most adorable and has created us with the capacity to enjoy him as such. That capacity means we too must be lovable and adorable, otherwise, we could not truly appreciate this about him.

When we are truly loved and adored we reciprocate. It is the way He designed us and how we are hard wired. If we do not reciprocate we have not yet truly experienced his love and adoration. 
___________________________________

¹in fact, we can not be truly lovely as we are designed to be until we experience the love of God who is the Source of love. 

To say it another way, we were never designed to initiate love for God but to be the recipients of his love and to respond to His love and love him in return i.e. we are love responders, not love generators. To say it another way, we are like God -- in His image -- but we are not God. 

²What was lost was our actual loving and adoring of God, not our capacity to love and adore Him. So for all practical intents and purposes, we might as well have lost the capacity to love and adore God. However, if the capacity had been completely annihilated we could (and would) never respond to God when he reveals his love and adoration to and for us. 

Celebrating our design and our Designer

The creative efforts of people may be carried out for the wrong reason (i.e. to exalt and advance self not God) but the fruit of those efforts is still evidence of the image of God within us all. For this reason we can (and should) fully appreciate the results of those efforts for what they are; evidence of the majesty, wonder and creativity of God within each of us, his image-bearers. 

Our creative abilities show us something significant for both God and us. Something that can be legitimately appreciated and admired (even the ability to design and construct the Tower of Babel gives evidence of the image of God within us).

Nevertheless, if these efforts are not carried out in an attempt to honor the one in whose image we are designed, they ultimately are all for naught i.e. they will have no eternal value.

We can and should celebrate humanity's design and our ability to create, but in doing so we must recognize the Creator (the giver of our abilities) and our utmost Designer is the ultimate reason for our celebration.

A divided nation

Why is our ¹nation so divided?

What are the factors? 

Some are external and objective i.e. there are outside forces deliberately attempting to "divide and conquer" us - though some would say this is conspiracy theory. 

However, whatever external influences there are, these outside factors could not have influence or take hold in a society without subjective issues existing first. 

The following addresses the subjective.

Ultimately, the solution to our national woes is not political but spiritual.

For example, the government can put forth the right policy but if the individual hearts of men and women are not submitted to truth (or we do not ²recognize there is such a thing as objective truth and morality), right policy will not change our hearts (or our minds). We may comply but only to avoid the consequences, not because we agree.

Right policy only addresses external behavior, not an internal desire to live truthfully with integrity or even the recognition of an objective moral standard.

Without an objective standard such as loving God equal to his loveliness and treating others as you wish to be treated (the summary of God's law), you only have "every man for himself" with a commitment to doing what is right "in their own eyes" - i.e. our "moral standard" is our subjective values/beliefs and unchecked desires.

Should we engage in the political process and seek to implement right policy? Absolutely! But we must also recognize, given man's natural bent away from God, that until the hearts of individual men and women change, right policy will only be looked at by many as an obstruction to happiness, not a means to it. 

We should be praying for our nation to return to God as much, if not more than we seek to promote right policy. Why? Because ultimately, only God can make a nation good, not a ruler, leader or politician. 

For more on the importance of praying for our nation, click here.

_____________________________

¹Though I have America primarily in mind, the same need for spiritual focus applies to any country or group. When a people group or country turns to God through a spiritual awakening, good behavior and material flourishing increase. When they don't a country declines. This was the pattern throughout Israel's history as well as all human history in general.

²In order for unity to occur in a society or a nation (or any other social unit such as a company, a family, marriage or a church) there must be a commitment to the same primary values. In order for this to occur there must be the recognition that there is such a thing as absolute objective truth; that our values are not simply subjective; that there is such a thing as objective and absolute good and bad values. If they are only subjective, who decides what (or whose) values take priority over another i.e. there must be either an outside arbitrator or an objective standard. 

For a further discussion on the importance of values in the sociopolitical realm click here. 

God's wrath...reasonable or unreasonable?

The wrath of God seems unreasonable and unfair unless and until we understand how great God is and how infinitely short we come in giving God his just and due honor i.e. the recognition of His greatness and the full extent of our rebellion in not recognizing it. 

It is only as we come to see how infinitely great God is, and ²wrestle with the depth and extent of our rebellion to Him in refusing to recognize it, that we see how just God's wrath is. The more we see His greatness, the more clear this becomes. 

But if God is so great, why are we not struck down on the spot for our rebellious disregard for His infinite greatness? If God's majesty is that great and our rebellious refusal to acknowledge it/Him is that pervasive, shouldn't we be? 

We assume God's ³lack of ⁵action means our rebellion must not be that big a deal. When in reality, it is only because of His kindness and mercy we are not destroyed, not because our rebellion is insignificant. 

2Pe 3:4  They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”... 

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

His patience and goodness are why we are not struck down. ¹Ironically, His patience, goodness, and mercy are a significant part of what makes God so great. He is great not only in power and righteousness but in grace, mercy, and patience toward us in our rebellion. 

The suffering of Christ...a key reminder of our true condition

The reason the humbling, rejection, suffering, and death of Christ is so offensive too many is it screams out that our rebellion towards God is so great and offensive that it required Christ, the flawless Son of the Fathers infinite love, to go through all the emotional, spiritual and physical pain He did to restore us back to his Father. Because of our rebellion, we down play and even mock Christ's suffering. 

The dishonor our rebellion brought -- and brings -- to God and Christ, with the resultant harm it causes others is genuine, not ethereal, or without consequence. Disregard for who Chirst is and all He did is real with very real consequences. 

To assert that God's anger at rebellious unbelief is overly harsh is to minimize the pain it causes ⁴others as well as the dishonor it brings to God. It can not be casually or simply dismissed or ignored. God is too great, and we as his image-bearers are too significant for Him to ignore the harm our unbelief causes others. Christ's willingness to suffer and go through a brutal death for us is our greatest proof. 

It is only when we wrestle with the extent of our own personal rebellion that we see how great it truly is and begin to fully appreciate the extent, necessity, and significance of what Christ went through to restore us. 

As well, the more we grasp the extent of what Christ went through, do we begin to see how far short we come in giving him his just and due honor. 

For a further discussion on the necessity of God's judgment, click here. 

For a discussion on what makes hell, hell click here. 

_______________________________

¹the unexpected irony is the greatness of our rebellion is seen clearest against the backdrop of God's love and mercy which is the primary expression of that greatness. The greatness of God is expressed not only in his power but in his humility by His willingness to suffer on our behalf. The more we see the greatness of God through the emptying of Christ's rightful glory, the more we realize how far short we come in properly recognizing and acknowledging that greatness.

For a further discussion of the humility of God, click here. 

²our wrestling only comes over time through persistent pursuit of God. There are no shortcuts. It is something we must go through/experience ourselves, not simply grasp in our heads through the experience and stories of others. The greater and longer our persistence in pursuing God, the more we wrestle and see, through first-hand experience, the depth of our rebellion. 

However, time alone does not bring about the needed development of faith but only when coupled with an earnest pursuit of God i.e. time enables our spiritual advancement quantitatively but is not required to experience it qualitatively. To say it another way, the more (quantitatively) we engage God, the greater the quality of our walk with God can be. 

This truth is captured and illustrated well in the struggle of Jacob when he wrestled with God the night before he faced the wrath of his brother Esau. 

Gen 32:24  And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26  Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27  And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28  Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29  Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.   

30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32  Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh. 

This event resulted in two permanent changes to Jacob... 

A change in his identity (he was no longer Jacob the clever and self-reliant "heel-grabber" or "supplanter" but Israel, the Prince of God) 

and 

A physical change (see vs 25, 31 above) was a reminder of his dependence on God. 

This was also experienced and expressed by Job after a period of intense suffering. 

Job 42:1  Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Job 4  ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 5  I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 

And of course the experience of Joseph also from the time of boasting about his vision as a cocky adolescent until he was reunited with his brothers and father as an adult with a family of his own. 

³I find it interesting whenever a nation experiences some kind of great calamity (such as hurricanes or other natural disasters) that we begin to hear whispers that this is evidence of God's judgment. It's as if we have this intuitive or instinctive sense we are not giving God his due honor and are therefore under his just judgment. 

⁴Downplaying the harm our wrongdoing brings to others is the fruit of this view. This results in greater sympathy for the offender than the offended; the opposite of what it should be. 

⁵The reality is God did take action by sending his Son to take on the consequences of our rebellion. His long-suffering is such that we have the opportunity to receive his gift of forgiveness and the righteousness necessary to enter his presence. These are offered to us freely so we might be restored to God.

Spirit driven

How do we know if a deed is Spirit driven/empowered? 

If it is done to bring honor (glory) to God out of love for and trust in God, i.e. it is a deed that is from Him, through Him, and to Him. It is a Spirit driven response to God's first treating us with love, honor, and value by sending His Son to restore us to the Source (Father) of love i.e. it is driven by our love for Him as a response to His love for us.

Operating in the Spirit is the interaction (reciprocation) between the ¹Source of love and the recipient (us). God - the ¹source - is lovely and trustworthy (and has already fully proven his love in giving us Christ). His great love poured out on us in and through Christ (without our doing anything to provoke/cause it), awoke our hearts to His love, calling (wooing) us to love, trust and follow him in response. Obedience is the fruit of God's love poured out on us through Christ in, by, and through the Spirit of reciprocal love between the Father and Son.

A truly good deed must always start with God, i.e. there must be a lovely and trustworthy object (God) in which the subject (us) can place their love and trust. 

Why? 

1. Without a worthy object, there can be (and is) no love and trust in and by us. 

2. There is nothing more worthy of our complete love and trust other than the infinitely lovely and trustworthy. Only an infinitely lovely object can evoke and draw infinite love out of us.  

3. God is the source/cause of love, not us.

4. By design we receive and respond to love, not initiate it i.e. as God-like creatures (in his image) we are created for love and hard-wired to respond to love. When loved sacrificially, we respond with love.

It (a deed) also must end with God. That which is Spirit driven is also God-focused (targeted). God is not only the cause/source of love, He's also the end/object of it i.e. all that we do is done for the glory of God.

God is both the beginning/cause (the Alpha) and end (Omega) of all our actions/deeds. 

This means we are all about "showing him off" to others. To say it another way, if you are truly God-focused (all about advancing his honor/worth/glory) you are Spirit-driven.

But it doesn't stop here 

This is only where it starts. God is the cause and end of our actions, but to know this fully (for it to be perfected/completed), we must act on who he is for us by faith. Our faith must be perfected/ matured (just as Christ also learned obedience through His own struggles). 

To see, enter into and experience him as lovely and trustworthy in ever-increasing degrees, we must pursue him as such, i.e. by faith. Our (subjective) experience of him as a being that is loving and trustworthy (objectively) is contingent upon our actions rooted in faith, i.e. that he is loving and trustworthy. This goes beyond the proof of God's love already shown by his past sacrifice and involves our present engagement, ongoing experience, and participation in that love.

This doesn't mean he loves us more when we obey him, it means we enter more fully into that infinite, ²unobstructed love he has already totally and fully secured for us in Christ. A love He had for us long before we ever lifted a finger for his sake (Rom 5:8). 

True faith always results in acting upon what we believe. As James said, "...Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works..." There must be movement towards (attraction to and affection for) the object of love, otherwise, our knowledge of God is only in our heads and not in our hearts. 

If there is no attraction, affection, and resulting action, there is no real and true love, i.e. we really don't know his love for us. If we did, we would (and will) act accordingly. 

To truly know his love is to be moved to love him in return, i.e. moved to action-obedience. It is not possible to truly know we are loved by God and not be moved to love him back.

1Jn_4:8  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (i.e. it is impossible to know the God of love and not be moved to love) 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent (God's love for us moved him to act/send) his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1Jn_4:19  We love because he first loved us (and only because he first loved us). 

1Jn_5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 

1Jn_5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing...

Jas 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?...

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. - James a disciple of Christ. 

__________________________________

¹God, as a union of love between the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit is the Source love, life, and all things. 

²Unobstructed only on His side of the relationship. There is nothing that hinders or stops His love for us as His child in Christ, but there is plenty on our side that prevents us from fully entering into and experiencing that love. 

For a discussion on the difference between being spirit driven vs works driven click here.

For a discussion on being loved VS experiencing his love click here.

For a discussion on becoming who we already are in Christ click here.

The life love and Spirit of God

God's life consists of the Father and Son blissfully existing (abiding together) in a relationship of infinite overflowing love. What is it about each other that evokes love? The infinite beauty of the other. 

The life of God is the love God has (experiences) eternally as the Father and Son affectionately behold and enjoy the infinite glory, beauty and worth of the other in, by and through the Spirit.

This is referred to by some as the beatific vision.

The life, love, and Spirit of God go hand in hand if not one and the same. 

Wherever the life of God is present so is the love and Spirit of God 

and 

Wherever the love of God is present so is the Spirit and life of God 

and 

Wherever the Spirit of God is present so is the life and love of God.

For...

God is love 1 John 4:8

God is life 1Jn 5:20  John 14:6-9

God is Spirit John 4:24

The life of God is the dynamic energy of God that moves him to action. 

The love of God is the holy affection that God has within his being as Father and Son, that emanates outward toward others.

The Spirit of God is that distinct being that is the manifestation of the fullness of God's life and love.

Everything regarding the Spirit has to do with affections (emotion e.g. passion, love, and joy) which moves God to action (willing, choosing).

The essence of God's being is infinite glory, beauty, value, worth etc. It is the joyful beholding of these qualities within and between the Father and the Son that generates and sends forth the love, life, and Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the overflow of his love and life within the community of Father and Son and out to us.

Walking in the Spirit is our believing this very same love that God has for and within himself is fully ours (in and through Christ); then receiving, participating in this love, and responding back to God in love by faith (faithfulness/obedience), and out to our fellow image-bearers (other God-like beings) thereby bringing him honor in and by displaying his glory, beauty, and worth to others.

When we come into God's presence through Christ via his Spirit, we are made fully alive. Why? Because our life consists of being valued/loved (just as God's does). When we are finally in God's direct and unobstructed presence (face to face) we will experience our greatest sense of love/value because He is most lovely and valuable. 

We are able to enter into and enjoy this overflowing God of love, joy, and bliss because we were made to i.e. we are like God - in his image.  

For more on the empowering of the Spirit click here

For more on how our love is a response to God's love, click here. 

the greater the evil the greater the healing

When we hear of an incredibility heinous violation of someone, such as rape, or kidnapping of a child and selling them into sex slavery, what possible good could come out of such horrendous acts? How could God possibly use something of such a destructive and heinous nature for good? 

It's actually the same question we can ask about the unjust murder of Christ himself. Can God bring good out of such evil? 

3 Things to consider. Such evil can result in...

• Observing mankind's evil demonstrates how desperately evil man's condition and heart are without God -- proving the futility of being disconnected from God and the importance and necessity of knowing Him and being restored to Him.

• How evil and destructive our rebellious distrust of God can be and is. Distrust or unbelief is the source of all wrong doing. 

• How Christ fully understands the pain evil causes by going through his own at the hands of evil acts i.e. his rejection by his own people, and His subsequent trial and crucifixion. 

Probably the greatest value we derive from suffering at the evil hand of others is a greater appreciation of the sufferings of Christ and a deeper understanding of the love Christ has that moved him to take on this suffering for us. When we see this clearly, it frees us from the bitterness of our past hurts as well as ensures the ultimate and complete removal of it from us in eternity. 

Suffering is not the last word. 

When we consider the suffering someone goes through, no matter how wicked, it does not have to be the end of the story or the ultimate destruction of one's soul -- though it certainly will be if we become embittered and more firmly committed to distrust in God and self-protection. God can (and will) truly and fully restore those who go through such overwhelming abuse and suffering (and beyond) if they allow Him to. If not in this life certainly in the next. In fact, because Christ fully took on all our pain, the ¹greater the losses we suffer in this life, the greater our ¹potential gain in the next. 

Also, some of the greatest testimonies of his love and grace are from those who have come out of the most abusive pain and are now brilliant lights for him. 

In fact, he will use evil to heal us in a way we would have not otherwise or ever known without evil. The extent of the healing is (and can only be) in proportion to the evil experienced i.e. the greater the evil the greater the potential healing and appreciation for it. Healing occurs precisely because damage is done and is needed most where the damage is greatest. Without great damage, there is no great healing.

What about the next life?

One of our biggest mistakes is to only view things from a temporary perspective. This is the opposite view taken in scripture (2 Cor 4:16-18). If this life was all there was, these horrendous deeds would only be devastating if not irreversible.

This is precisely why the resurrection is so vital and significant. It shouts that pain and death are not the final word... life is!

As Christ said, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his own soul? Wouldn't the opposite also be true? What great gain it would be to lose the world with all it's comforts, benefits, and blessings if it became the means of gaining our eternal soul and ultimate bliss far greater then any pain that brought us to it? And if we did, how much greater and more appreciated that gain would be once we experience it. If the pain, suffering, and destruction lead to the saving of our souls, would this not indeed be a great gain beyond all comparison? 

Some may argue the wound is too great and deep. How could God heal it? However, because the wound is so deep is exactly why the healing can be and is so great once we experience it. Even greater and deeper than the wound. As Paul said, where sin abounds, grace superabounds, i.e. the abounding is far greater than the loss. Though hard to grasp during the pain, this is the promise made to us. And this is not simply a promise of words but a promise backed up by the real suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ himself. He knows far greater pain than any of us and therefore understands ours better than anyone else.

All of this is possible only because Christ took the evil of our brokenness into his own body and let it wound and destroy him in the most unjust, undeserved, unfair, painful, and ²humiliating manner. An evil more vile and unjust than any of us could know; a wound and pain ³far greater and deeper than any wound any of us could experience or ever suffer. Our wounds do not carry the full weight of humanity's evil. Christ's did. 

Part of what also makes it so great and distinguishes it from all our pain is it was a wound he was no more guilty of than those who suffer the kind of abuse mentioned at the beginning of this article. He was the ultimate and greatest victim of abuse -- though he submitted himself to this willingly out of love for us. 

And because he rose to life after his terrible abuse and wounding, those who are also abused can be raised to eternal bliss and will be if they are in Christ. And the eternal benefit will far outweigh any present suffering and loss no matter how deep the wound or great the loss. 

Some have ⁴testified of the delivery of knowing Christ's love after coming from such a background. This is the work he has done on your behalf and the promise he offers if you will receive it.

For a further discussion of how we are in a constant state of pain click here.

What is the knowledge of good and evil? click here.

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here.

For a discussion on suffering due to our own choices click here.

For a discussion on seeing Christ love in our pain Click here.
______________________________________________________________

¹it is a potential gain and not certain, not because God is uncertain but only because our trust in God is uncertain, which determines if we do or do not gain from such events. If and when we fully trust him the gain is absolutely certain. The greater our trust, the greater our gain. 

²All artists' render Christ hanging on the cross with some kind of loin clothe. However, the common practice by the Romans at the time was to crucify their victims naked, to strip them of their dignity, maximizing their emotional pain and shame in addition to their physical pain. We sanitize it by putting a loin cloth on Christ. God did not. 

Add to this that Christ was actually crucified on a hill outside the city walls overlooking Jerusalem. It is understood that everyone within the walls of Jerusalem could see this hill and any events taking place there. Those who were not up on the hill that day could still see what transpired. Those who feel shame for their past abuse have someone in Christ who understands shame. 

Heb 12:2  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Heb 4:14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

Heb 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted G3985 as we are, yet without sin. 

Heb 4:16  Let us then with confidence (a certainty he understands and does not look down upon us with shame) draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

³But this was not the final word, life was i.e. resurrection. And because it was for him, so it is for those who are in him.

⁴Joyce Meyers was raped over 200 times by her father before the age of 18. Eventually, she led her father to Christ before he passed away. We have also seen how God has used her over the years. She shared how she knows a key reason God has used her in the way He has was because of this abuse. 

G3985 tempted - πειράζω peirazō

Thayer Definition:

1) to try whether a thing can be done
1a) to attempt, endeavour
2) to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself
2a) in a good sense
2b) in a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgments
2c) to try or test one’s faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin
2c1) to solicit to sin, to tempt
2c1a) of the temptations of the devil
2d) after the OT usage
2d1) of God: to inflict evils upon one in order to prove his character and the steadfastness of his faith
2d2) men are said to tempt God by exhibitions of distrust, as though they wished to try whether he is not justly distrusted

2d3) by impious or wicked conduct to test God’s justice and patience, and to challenge him, as it were to give proof of his perfections.