Tag: God is love
King of love
Scripture reading for October 3rd: 1st John 4, Psalm 47, Proverbs 11
1st John 4: 7-12 “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. 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. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”
John, the ‘beloved’ disciple, calls Christ’s followers “beloved!” He proclaims that God is love and that all who love are born of God and know God. Those without love do not know God. God made His love known to us through His Son. Jesus Christ came into the world that we might have life through His sacrificial death! We would not even know love if God had not made it visible to us in Christ. Since God loved us through giving Himself for us, we have an obligation to love one another. When we love one another, God abides in us and makes Himself visible to others and perfects His love in us. Hail King Jesus, King of Love!
Psalm 47:4-7 “He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom He loves. God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for showing us what love looks like through Your Son! Thank You that we have a King Who loves us and abides with us through His Holy Spirit. Thank You for the privilege of knowing Your love and sharing that love with my family and brothers and sisters. I long for Your love to be perfected in me when the trumpet sounds and You return and take me to dwell in Your presence!
Proverbs 11:10-11 “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.”
Love is the greatest commandment!
Scripture reading for May 5th: Matthew 22, Psalm 90, Proverbs 28
Matthew 22: 34-40 “But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
God is Love and to love is to be like Him! The Pharisees were seeking to trap Jesus so that they might accuse Him of blasphemy or call into question His authority and understanding of Scripture. A lawyer sought to trap Him with a question about which was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered him simply by quoting Scripture. The first and greatest commandment was to love God personally as Your Lord, and totally, with all your being. The second was like it, showing love for your neighbor, made in God’s likeness, as yourself. According to Jesus, love was the fulfilment of all the Law and Prophets! This is in fact, true as love for God and neighbor encompasses all other commandments and is God’s heart!
Psalm 90:13-14 “Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days.”
Prayer: Father God, I rejoice in Your amazing love, demonstrated to me through Your Son and His willing sacrifice for the sins of the world and my own sin. Forgive me for not always allowing Your love to flow in my heart. I have not obeyed You as I should and have certainly failed to show love for my neighbors at all times. Fill me today with a fresh anointing of Your love and teach me to love like You loved me!
Proverbs 28:9 “If one turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.”
Dear Friends!
Scripture reading for November 23rd: 1st John 4
Key Scriptures for over-comers: 1st John 4:7-11 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but the He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
“Dear friends” is the term of endearment used by the elder John to address members of Christ’s Church that he was writing to. His emphasis was on love as a fruit of the Spirit and a conscious choice of believers to develop. God, Himself, is Love therefore His children must reflect His basic nature. He sent His Son into the world to show us what real love looked like–laying our life down for others! Anyone not showing love and growing in expression does not know God.
Observations for over-comers: Members of Christ’s body are to show love as a conscious decision and fruit of His Spirit. “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared and honored His Name.” (Malachi 3:16)
God is good!
Scripture reading for April 23rd: 2nd Chronicles 1-5
Two great truths about God were voiced in the simple song that was sung when the priests and Solomon moved the Ark of the Covenant into the completed temple. The first is that God is good! God is good in all his ways and character. His goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives. (Psalm 23:6) He is good to His creation in providing all creatures food and drink to sustain them. He shows mercy in sending rain and bringing forth crops and food for all, no matter how they might treat Him! God is good in His character as well. He is pure and holy and righteous in every way. (Revelation 15:3-4) His perfection and holiness causes the hosts of heaven to adore Him, crying: “Holy, Holy, Holy!” ( Revelation 4:8) Ultimately all nations will come and worship Him for his goodness, justice and truth!
The second truth declared by those who moved the Ark into the Temple was that God’s love endures forever. “God is love.” (1st John 4:16) His nature is good because He is love that is eternal. (Psalm 90:2) He pours out His love on those He has made in His image and likeness! “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible. God’s love moved Him to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to seek out lost men and save them. (Luke 19:10) His love heals the sick, cleanses the defiled, and restores broken lives! His love never fails!
Try singing this simple song today as you go through your day. Thank Him for all the ways that God is good to you! Tell Him that you love Him today and appreciate his eternal love! As you do, remember that as a Christ-follower you now bear His presence and glory as a living stone in his temple! You join Solomon and the hosts of heaven as they worship eternally! “He (God) is good; His love endures forever.” (2nd Chronicles 5:13)
The spirit of antichrist!
Scripture reading for December 4th: 1st John 4:1-21
The Christians of John’s day were in a battle against false teachers and the spirits of evil who spoke through them. John wrote to encourage them and help them to identify these deceiving spirits. His words of instruction can help us in these last days in a similar battle!
“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1st John 4:2-3) These false prophets were denying Christ came as a man. This spirit was in the world in John’s day and is also in the world today in many modern cults. This belief was known as ‘gnosticism’ and denied the humanity of Jesus as the Son of God. The true Spirit of God always recognizes that Jesus came in the flesh.
John encouraged the Church to remember that they were able to overcome these evil spirits because the Holy Spirit lived in them. (1st John 4:4) The Spirit of Christ gives overcoming power because He is a Spirit of Truth. Believers can be confident in the Holy Spirit bringing discernment and enabling each person to know truth. The evil spirits tell lies that believers can easily spot.
Love is the mark of those controlled by the Holy Spirit. God is love and demonstrated His love by sending His Son into the world to die for us that we might live through Him. (1st John 4:7-12) Those born of God love each other and testify to the world about the love of God.
When we know the love of God, we have confidence on the day of judgment. God’s perfect love received means that we have been declared righteous and no longer have to answer for our sins. Jesus has forgiven us and we rest in His promise of righteousness by faith. This enables us to live a life of love towards others, free from fear of death. The Spirit of God gives us overcoming power through truth and love. What a joy it is to walk in the truth!