Many times, we tend to think of love as a feeling. We say, "I love you" to many different people. Often, we say it just because we have a gushy feeling towards them at the time. But true love is "agape" love, the God kind of love.
Agape love is not a feeling, it is choice with actions following.
1Corinthians 13 is the perfect description of agape love.
All of the chapter is good and vital but I will start with verse 4:
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. Love never fails.
I challenge you this first month of January 2009 to study love. How about we read this section of scripture every day during January and really meditate on each word? For God is love. When you are reading the Bible you can replace the name "God" with the word "love" and you may get some new revelation!
Learning to love is the first and most important lifelong goal of every Christian. And remember we must start with those closest to us!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Unity
The Bible talks a lot about unity. One of the greatest hindrances to answered prayer is disunity. When a husband and wife live together in unity their prayer life is so much more powerful than if they are in strife! When a church body is in unity, you better watch out because their prayers are going to change the world! That's why the devil tries so hard to bring strife in a marriage, in a friendship, and in a church body. Because he knows that where there is division there is lack of power.
I love Philippians 2:1-4
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 in purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
So we have to do everything we can to remain in unity with our brothers and sisters. That means overlooking little slights against us, always giving the benefit of the doubt, and forgiving easily and quickly.
Remember "satan roams around like a roaring lion seeking those he may devour". He is looking for someone to take the bait of offense!
Today lets choose to love and not be easily offended. Let's choose to forgive. I have wasted to much of my life in bitterness and judgement of others. Together we can choose to live a life of love, always thinking the best of people.
I love Philippians 2:1-4
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 in purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
So we have to do everything we can to remain in unity with our brothers and sisters. That means overlooking little slights against us, always giving the benefit of the doubt, and forgiving easily and quickly.
Remember "satan roams around like a roaring lion seeking those he may devour". He is looking for someone to take the bait of offense!
Today lets choose to love and not be easily offended. Let's choose to forgive. I have wasted to much of my life in bitterness and judgement of others. Together we can choose to live a life of love, always thinking the best of people.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Heaven or Hell?
The Lord put it on my heart to talk about the topic of heaven and hell today. I've had people ask me this interesting question, "If God is a loving God, then how can He send someone to Hell?"
In fact, I have asked this question myself. I have sought God for the answer and here is what He told me.
God does not send anyone to Hell, they send themselves. When a person is born, they are born into the family of sin, therefore they are sinners by nature. Sin deserves punishment and the punishment for sin is hell or separation from God, eternal death. Yikes! What if someone killed one of your loved ones and a judge let him go free? That would not be right, would it? The same for God, He would not be righteous if He let sinners go free. Yes, He is a God of love, but in that love there is judgement. However hard this is for us to understand, it is the way it is. But here is the amazing thing; because He loved you so much He did not want you to go to Hell so He took all of your sin (all the sins you have ever committed or ever will commit) upon himself. He literally took them. It was as if He sinned. Then He took your punishment. He died a horrible death and suffered immensely but He didn't stop there. He went to Hell for you so you wouldn't have to. Now that is a loving God!
All we have to do is accept what He did for us. We have to recognize that we are a sinner in need of forgiveness and then accept that Christ already paid the price for us!
Amazing!
I want to tell you a testimony. One day I was praying and I said to God. "God I am sure glad you are God, because if I was God I don't think I could have gone to the cross and went through what you went through."
Then God brought the beautiful faces of my children to my mind. Each one of them. And I felt so much love and desire to protect each one of them. Then God asked me this question, "What if it was up to you and if you did not go to the cross it would mean eternal torment and separation from your children?" I shudder just thinking about it. Then I said, "Yes, Lord, I see now. I would try to go. I would do everything I could to endure it so that I could be with my children."
And in this, the Lord showed me that this is comparable to how He felt and why He did it. Only the amount of love I feel for my children, is only a tiny drop compared to how much He loves each one of us!
If you want to read more about salvation go to one of my earlier posts entitled, "Salvation is a Parachute".
In fact, I have asked this question myself. I have sought God for the answer and here is what He told me.
God does not send anyone to Hell, they send themselves. When a person is born, they are born into the family of sin, therefore they are sinners by nature. Sin deserves punishment and the punishment for sin is hell or separation from God, eternal death. Yikes! What if someone killed one of your loved ones and a judge let him go free? That would not be right, would it? The same for God, He would not be righteous if He let sinners go free. Yes, He is a God of love, but in that love there is judgement. However hard this is for us to understand, it is the way it is. But here is the amazing thing; because He loved you so much He did not want you to go to Hell so He took all of your sin (all the sins you have ever committed or ever will commit) upon himself. He literally took them. It was as if He sinned. Then He took your punishment. He died a horrible death and suffered immensely but He didn't stop there. He went to Hell for you so you wouldn't have to. Now that is a loving God!
All we have to do is accept what He did for us. We have to recognize that we are a sinner in need of forgiveness and then accept that Christ already paid the price for us!
Amazing!
I want to tell you a testimony. One day I was praying and I said to God. "God I am sure glad you are God, because if I was God I don't think I could have gone to the cross and went through what you went through."
Then God brought the beautiful faces of my children to my mind. Each one of them. And I felt so much love and desire to protect each one of them. Then God asked me this question, "What if it was up to you and if you did not go to the cross it would mean eternal torment and separation from your children?" I shudder just thinking about it. Then I said, "Yes, Lord, I see now. I would try to go. I would do everything I could to endure it so that I could be with my children."
And in this, the Lord showed me that this is comparable to how He felt and why He did it. Only the amount of love I feel for my children, is only a tiny drop compared to how much He loves each one of us!
If you want to read more about salvation go to one of my earlier posts entitled, "Salvation is a Parachute".
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Healing
Psalm 103
Praise the Lord , O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits -
Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems you life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
Don't ever be confused on the issue of whether or not it is God's will to heal you! The Word of God is filled with proof that it is always God's will for a person to be healed. We can pray confidently for healing knowing that we are praying the will of God! Sometimes healing comes instantly and sometimes over a period of time but, with faith, healing will come.
Sometimes, when people aren't healed we tend to blame God. But God is perfect and there are things going on behind the scene so to speak, that we may not see or understand at the moment.
I say, we keep on believing the truth God has told us, we keep our eyes on God and keep on trusting Him no matter what we see in the natural!
"Focus not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen, for things that are seen are temporal, things that are unseen are eternal."
Praise the Lord , O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits -
Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems you life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
Don't ever be confused on the issue of whether or not it is God's will to heal you! The Word of God is filled with proof that it is always God's will for a person to be healed. We can pray confidently for healing knowing that we are praying the will of God! Sometimes healing comes instantly and sometimes over a period of time but, with faith, healing will come.
Sometimes, when people aren't healed we tend to blame God. But God is perfect and there are things going on behind the scene so to speak, that we may not see or understand at the moment.
I say, we keep on believing the truth God has told us, we keep our eyes on God and keep on trusting Him no matter what we see in the natural!
"Focus not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen, for things that are seen are temporal, things that are unseen are eternal."
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Shooting Stars
Great men and women of God aren't made in a day and they aren't born great either! Not one of us is born with a perfect character developed within us. In fact, we are all born into the family of sin and have to be born again into the family of God. Have you ever noticed that we don't have to teach children to lie or hit or disobey, we have to teach them to tell the truth, to be kind and obedient.
Many times, I have asked God why I have to go through all the things I am going through. Why do I have to wait so long to get answered prayer? Sometimes God answers my prayers quickly but more often than not, I am asked to wait. And usually, I wait until it seems to be almost too late and then God answers.
God has shown me that character is built over time, through trials and tribulations.
James 1:2 says:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Now how many of us consider trials to be pure joy? Usually not me! But I am learning that these are the things that are developing Godly character in me. I am learning to be humble, faithful, patient, steady, and many other Godly characteristics.
Have you seen men and women of God who seem like shooting stars? They rise up in a moment of time, show their glory and then fall? Well, probably, they didn't wait on God and let Him build their character so they would be ready to face the trials and oppositions that come with ministry.
So, be patient friends. Let God work that perfect work in you. When you pray for something, trust Him and know that His timing is not our timing! And know that all the while God is working a perfect work in you so that you can be mature and complete not lacking anything.
Many times, I have asked God why I have to go through all the things I am going through. Why do I have to wait so long to get answered prayer? Sometimes God answers my prayers quickly but more often than not, I am asked to wait. And usually, I wait until it seems to be almost too late and then God answers.
God has shown me that character is built over time, through trials and tribulations.
James 1:2 says:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Now how many of us consider trials to be pure joy? Usually not me! But I am learning that these are the things that are developing Godly character in me. I am learning to be humble, faithful, patient, steady, and many other Godly characteristics.
Have you seen men and women of God who seem like shooting stars? They rise up in a moment of time, show their glory and then fall? Well, probably, they didn't wait on God and let Him build their character so they would be ready to face the trials and oppositions that come with ministry.
So, be patient friends. Let God work that perfect work in you. When you pray for something, trust Him and know that His timing is not our timing! And know that all the while God is working a perfect work in you so that you can be mature and complete not lacking anything.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Fruit of the Spirit
I asked God what to write today and He brought to my mind this same verse again:
Philippians 1:9
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.
The phrase that really sticks out to me is "filled with the fruit of righteousness".
So when our love abounds more and more we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness.
What is the fruit of righteousness? It's the same as the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 says,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We are filled with the fruit of the Spirit when we "walk by the Spirit".
So a good test each day, maybe several times a day, is to ask ourselves, "Am I displaying love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?" And if these things are not evident in us then it is time to spend some time with God! We need to ask Him to fill us with His Spirit! The more time we spend with God the more these characteristics will be displayed in our lives.
Spending time with God is not a chore! We don't do it because we have to or because we think we are doing it for Him. NO! We spend time with God because we want to! Because being with Him is wonderful, healing, and will literally save our lives.
Sometimes we think that we just don't have the "time" to spend with God. But the truth is, we all have the same amount of time and we have to choose how we spend it. How we choose to spend our time reflects our greatest priorities!
Wow, God! Ouch again, but thanks for teaching us the truth! Because knowing the truth is what will set us free!
Philippians 1:9
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.
The phrase that really sticks out to me is "filled with the fruit of righteousness".
So when our love abounds more and more we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness.
What is the fruit of righteousness? It's the same as the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 says,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We are filled with the fruit of the Spirit when we "walk by the Spirit".
So a good test each day, maybe several times a day, is to ask ourselves, "Am I displaying love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?" And if these things are not evident in us then it is time to spend some time with God! We need to ask Him to fill us with His Spirit! The more time we spend with God the more these characteristics will be displayed in our lives.
Spending time with God is not a chore! We don't do it because we have to or because we think we are doing it for Him. NO! We spend time with God because we want to! Because being with Him is wonderful, healing, and will literally save our lives.
Sometimes we think that we just don't have the "time" to spend with God. But the truth is, we all have the same amount of time and we have to choose how we spend it. How we choose to spend our time reflects our greatest priorities!
Wow, God! Ouch again, but thanks for teaching us the truth! Because knowing the truth is what will set us free!
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