Love

Love is one of the words that we probably all have some variations in our personal definitions.  We know when we feel love and the joy that it brings to our lives.  Lets take a look at some Bible verses on love.

Mark 12:31

The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Luke 6:35

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Romans 13:10

Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 13:13

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

Ephesians 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

 

Alright lets take a look at just the few verses above on love.  We learn very quickly that we are to love others such as our neighbors and even our enemies.  That's not an easy thing to do but God gives us directions in how we are to love others.  In Romans 13:10 it says love does no harm to it's neighbor and in 1 Corinthians(13) basically the chapter what love is and how great love is.  To finish up we are to bear with one another in love.  I read that in my head to say to overlook flaws in love.  My opinion and not a fact.

 

So as you get up today I ask you...are you loving as God has commanded us to love?  Are you struggling to show love to someone who doesn't treat you that well?  Pray to God and ask Him for strength.  Ask God how you can show love to the people in your life that aren't so easy to love.  Because without love we are really missing the point in our faith.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't go there but.....

The tragedy in the Philippines has really grabbed my attention.  The people there have lost homes, family members, basics like food, and clean water.  The emotional toll(lack of hope) has to be heart breaking.  Stepping over bodies, struggling to get the help and supplies they need are things that aren't going away.  So what can we do?

1.  Even if we can't go over there we can always pray.  God hears our prayers and He knows their needs. 
2.  We can send money.  There are plenty of organizations at work over there.  We can help.
3.  Help someone else go who has the opportunity.

Keep in mind just because you can't physically go there doesn't mean you can't help.  I can't go over to Africa and dig wells but I can send money to help those who do.  We can expect to be blessed for doing so.  That shouldn't be our motivation but it can help when we doubt we are making an impact.  It will also help us take our focus off ourselves.  We can't live our entire life just worrying about us.  There are plenty of people out there looking for help that you could provide.  Sometimes it's just a conversation with someone who is feeling down.  It might be that you can make a meal for someone who is having physical issues or just out of the hospital.  Maybe you could help take care of the yard of someone who is elderly.  God can move in mighty ways in our lives to bless others if we just make time.

Lets look at some examples from the bible about helping others.

Hebrews 13:16 ESV / 

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Philippians 2:4 ESV / 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Luke 6:38 ESV / 

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

1 John 3:17 ESV / 

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Matthew 25:35-40 ESV / 

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ...

James 2:14-17 ESV / 

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Galatians 6:2 ESV / 

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

John 15:12 ESV / 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Matthew 5:16 ESV /

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Proverbs 19:17 ESV / 

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 22:9 ESV / 

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

So now it's not just me saying this but God.  Please take the time today to take your eyes off you and your problems and focus on what you can do to help someone else.

His Love

Never doubt God's love.  Here are some wonderful scriptures to remind us!

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, evenwhen we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

1 John 4:7-8  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 Peter 5:6-7  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Job 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor,  for they are all the work of his hands?

Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

John 13:34-35  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Colossians 2:6-7  Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

Spiritual Growth

Unfortunately in life to go through growth we must first go through some difficulty.  If we never go through any difficulty or quit whenever things get tough we remain the same.  This is the same in our faith in God.

If we go through trials but we first run to the internet, a self help book which is not what the Bible is, or friends and family who are not in the faith we are heading the wrong direction!

It is through these trials that our roots grow deep in God.  The Bible says that God tries the heart in Proverbs 17:3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart.  He wants to know what you will do when the tough times come.  Can He trust you?  Will you fall away?  Philippians 4:5-7 Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We are to glory in our trials (Romans 5:3) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  In these we develop the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23

New International Version (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

God wants to use you but are you willing to go through the process He has for you to get there?  

Reading

What are you reading right now? The bible? A novel? Fiction? Nonfiction?

Right now I'm reading Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. Now I have read this at least once a year since 2001. I really love this book. It has a lot of great encouraging and heart warming stories spanning from forgiveness to losing a loved one. God is in control in all those circumstances and I love being reminded of that.

Remember it's not always about us because somewhere out there someone is always hurting more.

Enjoy your summer, keep praying, and looking forward to the final destination God has for you.