Christian Diary: Love

Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts

What many think of as love is really just a form of selfishness -- not pure love.

It can be identified by thinking like this: I love you because of the way you make me feel. I love you because of what you do for me. I love you because of how you make me look. I love you because of what I can get from you.

True love is instead marked by thinking like this: I love you because you are valuable and precious. I love you because I want the best for you.

I am not saying that "selfish love" is evil, only that it is not pure love. It is not the highest form of love. It is immature, like a baby would love his mother. We are supposed to grow past this kind of love to experience true, pure love -- which is completely unselfish. It seeks the best for the other person, not because of what they can do for you, but because of what you can do for them, because they are valuable and precious to God.

JOHN 15:13 GWN 13 The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.

A human giving their life to the point of death has to be completely unselfish. It cannot be motivated by any benefit they would receive. So the more unselfish love is, the greater, purer, and more mature it is.

ROMANS 5:8 GWN 8 Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God's love for us.

JOHN 13:15 NKJ 15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

JOHN 13:34 NKJ 34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

JOHN 14:12 NKJ 12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

JOHN 15:12 NKJ 12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

EPHESIANS 4:31-5:2 NKJ
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet- smelling aroma.

EPHESIANS 5:25 NKJ 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

COLOSSIANS 3:12-14 NKJ 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

MATTHEW 5:43-48 NKJ 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

1 JOHN 2:6 NKJ 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

MATTHEW 5:44 NKJ
44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

"Love your enemies? What kind of advice is that? How can you have enemies, if you act in love toward them?"

Good point.

Why would anyone want to have enemies? Do you?

God's instructions, if acted upon, will make friends out of enemies. Think how much better the world would be then.

God can, and does, love His enemies. He proved it. No matter what they did to Jesus, He never quit walking in love.

But it may be impossible for a normal human to love their enemies -- without God's help. Fortunately, God's help is available!

No matter how hard it seems, you can love those who have hurt you. If it was not possible, God would not command us to do it. Of course, to be successful at it, we need to call on the Lord and receive His help.

"But why should I love my enemies?" You should know it is the best thing for you to do, just because God said it. It benefits you as well as the one who wronged you.

You have two basic choices when someone does you wrong. Do wrong back to them. Or, return good for evil.

If you fight back, then they will have a valid excuse to continue mistreating you. Is that what you want? If not, then the intelligent choice is to stop the vicious cycle by returning good for evil. Love your enemies until they become your friends.

PSALM 27:10 NKJ
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.

Normally, one's parents are among the ones who can be counted on to help and love and support -- no matter what.

ISAIAH 49:15 NKJ
15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.

Concerning earthly love, none is greater than that of a mother for her baby. Yet even that can sometimes fail, in extreme circumstances. But God's love for you is deeper, stronger, and more sure.

HEBREWS 13:5 NIV
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

People will fail you. You may even fail yourself. But God can be trusted. He will never fail you. He will never give up on you and never turn His back on you. He promised!

Does this mean God will always protect you from everything unpleasant? No. Not any more than a good earthly parent can keep their child from every unpleasant experience.

We must grow up. We must learn to walk in faith and love, and to overcome.

But God will be there to help you. And to make sure that everything does work out for your good in the long run.

Trust in the Father God. He is more dependable than friends or family, and He loves you more than anyone else ever will.

EPHESIANS 4:31-32 NCV
31 Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil.
32 Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.

As a human who has been hurt, you may find it impossible to forgive and walk in love. But as a child of God, with God helping you, you can do it.

God freely forgave you. Now, with His love placed in your heart, you are to act like Him and forgive others.

EPHESIANS 5:1-2 NIV
1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Putting others first is the essence of walking in love. Selfishness is the opposite of walking in divine love.

COLOSSIANS 3:12-13 NIV
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

If you are having trouble with this, just ask the Lord to work in you and change you. Tell Him you need help.

PSALM 103:11 NIV
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

If you understood how much God loves you -- your life would be different.

Fear and worry would have no power over you any longer. Fear has no torment for someone basking in the sunlight of Almighty God's love.

This passage in Psalm 103 attempts to picture the size or extent of God's love. It is not portrayed as simply big as the highest mountain. No, no -- far more. As high as the sky is above the earth. That is the picture God wants you to see when you think of how great His love is for YOU.

How do I know this? Just from what the Bible says. And from what God did in and through Jesus Christ to redeem you. He paid a mighty price for you -- because His love for you is so great.

But, you may ask, "Why is my life going so poorly if God really does love me so much?" That is a valid question, but not the same one as whether God loves you. The quick answer is that God has made provision for us -- but most of us are not taking advantage of the help He offers.

Put another way, we are not acting on God's instructions -- whether out of ignorance or for some other reason. When you don't follow a proven recipe you cannot expect a good outcome.

God has no desire to condemn us for our failure, but instead desires to invite us into His fellowship and His way of doing things. It is through His Word that this will happen in our lives. So, read the Bible to see how much God loves you, but also remember that it is because of His great love for you that He gave you the instructions found in the Bible. They are for your benefit -- not God's benefit.

Only God can answer this question. Fortunately, we have a book available where we can find out what God thinks: the Bible.

(What a wonderful thought that is! We can read and know what GOD thinks! Don't let yourself be robbed of this great privilege by being too busy.)

PSALM 103:13 NIV
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

One way we can begin to get an inkling of God's love for us is to know what it is like to have our own children. Psalm 103:13 tells us that the same deep feelings a parent has for their child, are also present in God toward us. The word in this verse means much more than "compassion." It is a very deep feeling -- hard to express in words. This is what God feels for you!

(You may wonder why. I may wonder why God would feel that way about you or me. All I can say is: parents can think their own children are really special, even though others may think they are quite normal!)

Another way we can judge how much God loves us is by what He was willing to go through to redeem us and have us in His family. A lot!

We are familiar with John 3:16, but often being familiar with something keeps us from grasping it as fully and clearly as we should. Think about it: God so loved the dirty, rotten, rebellious world of people -- even those who hated Him -- that He decided to suffer the punishment that justice demanded so they could go free.

God loves you -- no matter who you are -- no matter what you have done. He loves you more than you can imagine or understand.

God loves you more than He loves Himself. That is proven by the fact that He put your interest and your feelings ahead of His own, choosing to suffer so you could go free.

How can anyone not love and worship such a Being as our wonderful God?

PHILIPPIANS 2:3-4 NKJ
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Selfishness, not hate, is the opposite of divine love.

All the problems in the world today are the result of selfishness. The problems in our governments and with our economies are all the result of selfishness. The problems in our families are the result of selfishness.

JAMES 3:16 TEV
16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.

The answer is for each of us to desire the best for others, even to the point of sacrificing our own benefit to see others blessed. This describes divine love.

That's how Jesus lived. His aim was to benefit others, not to please Himself. Jesus suffered so we would not have to suffer.

This love is a commandment for all Christian believers. But this commandment is given for our good, not to discourage us or condemn us. With the command we are also given the nature and ability to perform the command.

JOHN 13:34 NKJ
34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

All who receive Jesus Christ can walk in the same divine love Jesus did, because they have God's life in them. This is why all people MUST be born again, so they can be set free from sin's bondage by being cured of selfishness.

ROMANS 5:5 NKJ
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

(Christians can choose to act selfishly, but when they do, they are acting against their own nature.)

JOHN 13:34-35 NKJ
34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

True followers of Jesus are different. They are marked by divine love. They do something which is impossible for "mere men," they walk in divine love.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:3 NKJ
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

This verse shows that believers can be carnal, or ruled by their senses and natural mind, but all believers are capable of showing divine love.

The truth is that we need to be born again so we can have God's love in us. Then we will be able to love others as Jesus loves us. The people of the world are not capable of this.

ROMANS 5:5 NKJ
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Even though we have the love of God in our hearts, we still have to choose to allow it to control our actions and reactions toward people. In this, as in every area, we must look to the Lord for His help.

The love we are to show others is the kind of love God has toward us. It is a giving love, and a forgiving love.

This love desires the best for others, but goes beyond just desiring it, for it is willing to do what is necessary to make good happen for others.

This divine love is evident when you would rather allow yourself to be hurt than to allow someone else to be hurt.

When people see this love manifest through our lives, it should cause them to say, "That's not normal!"

That's what Jesus was talking about in John 13:35, that those who are His disciples would stand out from the crowd because of the divine love being demonstrated through their lives.

John 3:16 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave . . .

You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving.

When you love you will give of your time, you will give of yourself, and you will give of your resources. Those who truly love, hold nothing back.

The measure of your giving reveals the measure of your love.

Love is something we can't see, but we can see the evidence of love in the action it produces, which is giving.

If you love someone you will also give them forgiveness. Love causes you to be merciful, understanding, and forgiving.

Where you give your time and resources also reveals what you love. If we think we love someone, yet never give to them of our time or resources, then we are just deceiving ourselves.

There are many people in each of our lives who need and deserve our love. Jesus Christ is the most deserving of all!

There were three words for love in the Greek language of the New Testament times. One of the words spoke of sensual love (the love between sweethearts). Another spoke of affection for others (a natural affection for one's friends). But the word used in 1 Corinthians 13 was not found in Greek secular literature. The word for "love" used here (agape) means the love that God sheds abroad in the heart of his children by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The word is translated "charity" in the KJV.

Agape love is the highest and holiest type of love that any person can ever know, and the Bible describes this higher kind of love by using an entire chapter. We want to note the supremacy, the character, and the durability of love, as we analyse the passage in 1 Corinthians 13.

The supremacy of love (verses 1-3)
Love is greater and its constrasted with some of life’s most valued treasures.

Love is contrasted with eloquence
“though I speak with the tongues of men and angels”. Being able to persuad people with words. Everyone has heard of eloquent speakers, if these people speaks without love, it amount to nothing. This makes agape love greater than eloquent speaking.

Love is contrasted with prophecy
“And though I have the gift of prophecy”. Prophecy is to foretell the future and the truth of god. If we do this without love, it is to no avail.

Love is contrasted with understanding mysteries
“and though you understand all mysteries”. The Holy Bible speaks of a number of mysteries. If one claims to understand all these mysteries, without love, he has failed.

Love is contrasted with knowledge
“and though I have all knowledge”. There are many schools in the world today than ever before, yet we don’t know much. The three most –used words in the English language are still the words. “I don’t know. Suppose you know, could read many of the language that are spoken today – still, love is far greater than suck knowledge.

Love is contrasted with Faith
“and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing”. Even our faith can be a cutting and hurting thing. To imply in a kind of sarcastic way that we have an inner strength that help us along – and that most Christians do not have such help – may indicate that we have faith, but it is held without love.

Love is contrasted with charity
“though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor”. Charity is good-will and benevolence to the poor and suffering. A person can be charitable and still not have love, and thus charity is not the greatest thing in the world.

Love is contracted with sacrifice
“though I give my body to be burned”. Many of our forefathers sacrificed greatly. Some were tired to the stake, others were covered with oil and pitch and burned alive. These were great sacrifice but agape love is still greater.

The exercise of faith so great to move mountains, the voice of eloquence and all the prophecies – may seem great to us – but are nothing when contrasted with real Christian love. Unless exercise in love, they are only so much noise and activity and excitement.

GOD LOVES YOU

Do you know that God loves you more than you can imagine? Lets take a look into the Holy Bible to see how true it is.

-Jeremiah 31:3, The Word says, "The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you'.

It also says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thought that I think toward you, says the Lord, thought of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope".

Our God in Heaven never thinks negative about us. He always wants the best for His children.

"And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. We love Him because He first loved us". - John 4:16a, 19

"As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him". -Psalm 103:13

God loves us that He pities for us.

In Romans 5:8, God demonstrates His own love towards us. In that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

God loves us so dear that in John 3:16, He sacrifies His only Son to die for us.

-Isaiah 38:17 reads, Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

"The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17.

The Lord God is happy, and rejoice that He loves you.

The Bible says, "I have loved you, says the Lord". -Malachi 1:2a.

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!" -Psalm 36:7a.

GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE.
Share This Message.

Selfish Love

Love Like Jesus

Love Your Enemies

Father's Faithfulness

Walk In Love

How High Are The Heavens Above The Earth?

How Much Does God Love You?

Selfishness: The Opposite Of Divine Love

Love Evidence

Love Means Giving...

The Meaning Of Christian Love

GOD LOVES YOU

Popular Posts