All tagged love
We live in a time that pleads for reconciliation, a time when we are being called almost hourly to make intercession through prayer for those who are different from us. Whether it be a difference in righteousness, finances, race, color, nationality, or faith... intercession is of God and through it we are taught to love one another.
This morning, I have been mulling over the fact that we should always put Jesus ahead of our own wants and self-interests. My mind has wandered to those times when I have placed my name first and didn't allow Him to take the lead in my life... or had ignored Him all together. Jesus has been declared by God Himself to be the name above all names, and yet sometimes we take it upon ourselves to subvert His rule and pursue our own interests as if we hold a higher office than He does. We don't do this so much as a coup d'état but we do it in answer to our own pride and selfishness. Does the thought of this cause our faces to flush with embarrassment and shame?
Let's consider this morning how completely God gave of Himself that we should find forgiveness for our sins and everlasting life with Him. Then, let's ask ourselves if we are willing to give ourselves to Him just as completely and with the same total emersion in love. Are we loving Him and our neighbors as we should or has the world formed a hard shell around this ability in us, and has Satan convinced us that in this hardened form it has become a treasure… a pearl?
I often talk about how I feel regarding Jesus and my love for God, but today I am considering the love God has for us, and the reason for the love He feels for us. We know very well that God loves us, and the Bible is filled with scripture to that effect. It could very well be considered a love story between God and man. Do we approach our relationship with this in mind?
Did Jesus live die and rise from the grave, resurrected, to save you from your sins? Of course He did, but that is only part of the picture... the tip of the iceberg. Jesus did all of this to save not just you or me, but the world... and regardless of who we are, any one of us is but a small part of that.
This morning Let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions… “Do I love the Lord like I did the moment I was saved?”, and “Has my love for Him diminished in any way over the years?” This will be our contemplation this morning. I am personally looking inward at the love I feel after many years with Jesus and worshiping God. Will you join me in this?
I was lifted up by the message and scripture of my devotional reading today. The scripture reading that blessed me so immensely was from 2nd Corinthians. And, as I read this scripture, the words of my devotional reading this morning echoed in them. They spoke to me of Jesus being the pattern of prayer, selfless, and the great intercessor who stands at the right hand of God... In this I could see a lesson in how we should all pray for others… it was a lesson in love, and in comforting others.
God never forsakes us. This is our contemplation this morning. Men will turn their backs on kings, and one another, but God never forsakes us, His People. We are asked to love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength, because this is how He loves us, but do we understand and believe this to be absolutely true? Do we love our neighbors as we love ourselves? We are His people, and His inheritance, and as such we are priceless in His eyes.
The 2024 presidential election in the United States is over for another four years, and a new president has been elected, but this doesn’t mean that that our nation is at ease. Now begins the big job of healing that facilitates making peace within ourselves, and loving one another. Are we praying for our neighbors and enemies? Do we realize how important praying for them is when it comes to restoring tranquility, calm, and order to our country? Let’s think on this today, and pray as we should for one another.
Let’s consider the topic of "obeying God out of love" this morning. Love is a powerful emotion and leads us to our greatest heights. But unfortunately, when spurned, it has also causes some of our greatest pains, and failures as well. Fortunately, God never rejects our love or fails to recognize our obedience to His Word that flows from it. He rewards us, just as those of us who are in love do with one another; each longing to fulfill the other's desires, even if doing so comes at the expense of our own comfort or desire.
What does it mean to give ourselves to God? Are we prepared to become fully consecrated? These are questions for us to concentrate on this morning. Presenting ourselves to God and becoming spiritually focused rather than worldly centered. When we do this, our lives are changed and we become an example to others of the perfect will of God... we will reflect those attributes which set us apart as holy and righteous before a world of sin and compromise.
How do we come before the Lord? Do we come boldly, or timidly? Do we come in expectation or in doubt like a mistreated dog or a street beggar? Do we come in fear or with confidence? The answer to these and other similar questions lies in our relationship with the Lord, how well we know His character, and our faith in the promises He has made through His word. But most of all it depends on the strength of our love for Him and our understanding of the depth of His love for us. Those who know Him, love Him, honor His commandments, and follow Jesus our savior, enter into His presence with confidence and great expectation.
Jesus talks about keeping (being obedient to) His commandments in the book of John. He isn't talking about an obedience based on fear, but an obedience founded in love and a desire to follow Him. When we obey the biblical commandments out of love and not duty, Jesus will manifest Himself in us, and we will experience the love of God; a love like none other.
God doesn't force us to seek and worship Him; our freedom of choice is paramount in our relationship with Him because He desires a true, not contrived, relationship with us. We have asked ourselves many questions over the past years, not the least of them were… Have we dedicated ourselves to the Lord in such a way that we are considered consecrated? And, have our actions and prayers sought out righteousness and allowed God to sanctify us and make us holy? However, an equally important question is this… Do we love Him freely, just as He loves us?
This morning we explore a life of personal holiness and the prayer which leads us to it. If we pray continually, and seek God's presence, then the natural and inevitable result will be our consecration and eventual holiness.