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Tag: love

  • The Unity of Love

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    The Unity of Love

    Unity

    Psalms 133:1 (NASB)

    Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
    For brothers to dwell together in unity!

    Unity, being in agreement with those around us, is a wonderful thing. It’s something that God has designed for us. Unfortunately, life and human nature tend to get in the way, and our unity is destroyed. The Bible gives us ways to fix this.

    Creation

    Genesis 1:27 (NASB)

    God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

    In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. We are all descended from them. We all look different, with many variations, but we all have red blood, DNA, hearts, lungs, arms, and legs. We might be tall, short, fat, skinny, have black hair, red hair, or no hair; dark skin, light skin, or many variations in between. It’s easy to look at someone else and focus on how they are different. If we look more closely, though, we would see that we are a lot more alike than we are different.

    One Body

    Romans 12:4-5 (NASB)

    4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
    5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

    When we gave our lives to Christ, we became part of the body of Christ. We all look different, and we all have different abilities. That just means that we are meant to serve as different parts of the body.

    True Diversity

    1 Corinthians 12:18-21 (NASB)

    18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
    19 If they were all one member, where would the body be?
    20 But now there are many members, but one body.
    21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

    God placed each one of us in His body, not we ourselves. If God did it, it’s perfect. If we try to do things our own way, we have problems. If every part of the body was the same, it couldn’t function. Expecting everyone else to look, act, feel, and speak the same way you do is not realistic, and it can lead to problems.
    At the same time, some people will say that we need to accept someone’s sinful actions, because they are being “diverse.” Being different is not wrong; doing sinful things is wrong. Why is it wrong? Because God says it is. That’s not being mean; it’s just being honest.

    Jude 22-23 (NASB)

    22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting;
    23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

    We can love someone while hating their sinful actions. It’s hard for both people involved, but that is love. Leaving someone in their sin is not.

    Love

    John 13:34-35 (NASB)

    34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
    35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

    John 15:12-13 (NASB)

    12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
    13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

    Jesus said this was His commandment, not suggestion. We are commanded to love one another. Love is both a choice and a feeling. There are probably some people around you that you don’t care to hang out with. There are probably also times when your best friend or spouse has a disagreement with you. This is when the love choice comes in.
    It’s easy to hate or be offended. Loving the other person in a hard situation is a choice. It’s one that Jesus made for us.

    Jesus’ Love

    Romans 5:8 (NASB)

    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

    We were not just annoying; we were sinners, opposing everything that Jesus had given to us. Jesus didn’t tell us to do certain things, then He might think about dying for us. While we were at our lowest point, with no chance of eternal life, He died in our place, simply because of His love for us. He made the choice to love us, while we were unloving and unlovely.

    Love One Another

    John 15:12-13 (NASB)

    12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
    13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

    If Jesus can love us this much, we should be able to get along with each other. It could be that the other person didn’t mean to offend you. Even if they did, stop and think about what Jesus forgave you of. It’s definitely far worse than what someone else could possibly do to you.

    Forgive

    Matthew 6:14-15 (NASB)

    14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
    15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

    Jesus made it very simple. It’s only fair and just that He would expect us to love and forgive each other.

    Forgiveness is a critical part of love.
    Without forgiveness, you can not love.

    What is Love?

    1 Corinthians 13:1 (NASB)

    If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

    Paul tells us that if we don’t have love, whatever we say is just a bunch of noise. He then tells us what love is not.

    Spiritual Gifts

    1 Corinthians 13:2 (NASB)

    If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

    Having spiritual gifts is wonderful, but that is not love.

    Self Sacrifce

    1 Corinthians 13:3 (NASB)

    And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

    Giving up all of our possessions and even dying is not necessarily love.

    True Love

    1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NASB)

    4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
    5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
    6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
    7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    Notice in this list how love always puts the other person first. Love “does not seek its own.” Love refuses to believe the worst, even if it seems obvious. It is always holding out hope for the other person. Love always gives, never takes. Love will accept a gift, but it will never demand or expect.

    Unity

    1 Corinthians 12:26-27 (NASB)

    26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
    27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

    If we have love, we will have unity. Without love, unity will always fail. If one of us fails, we all fail. If one is honored, we can all rejoice. We should always be happy for their success, never jealous.

    Truth

    1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NASB)

    4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
    5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
    6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

    Our unity has to be based in truth. Accepting someone’s sin so we can be “unified” is not love. Love “rejoices with the truth.”
    The truth is that Jesus loves us. Because of that, we are able to love each other. When we do, we will be unified in our purpose to tell everyone else about His love.

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  • Make It Personal

    adult hand reaching down to child's hand with cross in the background

    Make It Personal

    Personal

    Have you ever had someone tell you, “Don’t take this personally”, then they say something hurtful to you, personally? How about someone you just meet, then they start a conversation, sharing really personal things? They might even be asking you personal things.
    These are all things that make most of us uncomfortable. We all have certain things that we just want to keep private, keep to ourselves. It might not be logical, but we might even try to hide some things from God.

    Relationship

    two people holding hands on white surface

    It’s good to keep your private things to yourself. If you want a relationship with someone, though, you have to be willing to share who you are, including some (or all) of your most personal thoughts, feelings, embarrassing moments, etc. You also need to open yourself up to listening to the other person’s needs, hurts, and personal feelings. That’s a relationship – sharing with each other.

    Fear

    Fear is what stops us from sharing more of ourselves with others, including those we love the most. We think, “If they knew this about me, they wouldn’t love me anymore.”
    Something you figure out as you get older is that everyone has these secrets. Everyone has things that they want to hide. Everyone has made mistakes. Since that is the case, we really should feel more comfortable with each other, and not feel intimidated, because we think someone else never has any problems.

    Comfort

    brown puppy on bed

    When we reach a certain comfort level with someone, we are more willing to share more about ourselves, because we know they will keep our private things private, and they only want what is best for us. There is a scripture in Proverbs that talks about this kind of friend.

    Proverbs 18:24 (NASB)

    24 A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

    Having a really close friend, someone who is “closer than a brother” is precious, and actually somewhat rare. Having this kind of friend and being this kind of friend is special.

    Jesus’ Friendship

    Jesus walking with a man on the beach

    Jesus spent about three and a half years with His disciples, teaching them, eating and sleeping with them, and caring for all of their needs. They always knew that they could go to Jesus with any problem they had. Jesus, the Son of God, even called them His friends.

    John 15:15 (NASB)

    15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

    Jesus is our “friend who sticks closer than a brother.” He wants to be our best friend. In fact, when He knew that He was about to be crucified, He told His disciples that He would not leave them alone. He was going to send someone to take His place – someone Who would never leave them.

    Holy Spirit

    John 14:16-17 (NASB)

    16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
    17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

    In the Greek (the original language of the New Testament), the word that is translated “Helper” here could be translated “attorney”, someone who is called to stand by your side and plead your case, no matter what you are accused of. The Holy Spirit (God) is always on our side, always looking out for our best interests, always ready to listen and give advice. He truly is our best friend, but is He a person or just a thing?

    Feelings

    Ephesians 4:30 (NASB)

    30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

    A “thing” can’t be grieved; only a person can. The Holy Spirit is a person, the same way that Jesus is and God the Father is. It’s easy to think of the Holy Spirit as a feeling or a part of God, but He is a person Himself, even with feelings. We don’t know all of the details, but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are called the Trinity – three Persons, all God individually and together. God cares for us and only wants what is best for us.

    He goes before us

    Deuteronomy 31:6 (NASB)

    6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”

    As the Israelites in the Old Testament were about to enter the promised land, they knew that they had to fight many people who were stronger and more numerous than they were. God told them that He would go before them; He would not leave them. He led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.
    We see this same type of leading and protecting in the New Testament.

    Greater is He

    1 John 4:4 (NASB)

    4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

    Have you ever seen kids arguing and one of them says, “well, my dad could beat up your dad?” That child knew that he was not very strong, but he knew someone who was very strong, and he knew that his dad would always protect him.
    Our Father is greater than anyone or anything in the universe; He created everything in the universe! We also know that He loves us more than we can imagine.

    True love

    1 John 4:9-10 (NASB)

    9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
    10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

    Jesus was willing to sacrifice everything, just so we could be forgiven of our sins. In verse 10 above, the word, “propitiation” means that He became the sacrifice that we needed. We deserved death, because of our sins, but He took our place – even before we turned away from our sins. He died so that we could live.

    Fellowship

    1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

    9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

    This word, “fellowship” refers to sharing. It is not where we pray and God listens. It is also not where God gives us a bunch of hard rules, then tells us to follow them. This fellowship is the same word that is used when you have two or more friends that get together, maybe over a good meal, and they enjoy each other’s company. Each one gives and receives from the other one. This is what we have been called into, if we are living for Christ. He wants fellowship with us. He wants us to share with Him and receive from Him. He is the best friend ever.

    Wedding feast

    Revelation 19:7-9 (NASB)

    7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
    8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
    9 Then he said to me, “Write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

    Jesus calls us His bride. One day, we will be fully united with Him in heaven, forever. Just as a bride and groom anxiously wait for their wedding day, He is waiting for our wedding day. We should also be looking forward to that day with anticipation and great joy. Then, we can fellowship and spend time with our best friend – forever!

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  • Do You Love Me More Than These?

    Jesus speaking with His Peter and His other disciples

    Do You Love Me More Than These?

    Love

    After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared a number of times to different people, over a 40-day period, then He ascended to heaven. One of these times, He met with His disciples and cooked some fish for them. He then asked Peter three times if he loved Him – the first time, “do you love Me more than these?”

    John 21:15 (NASB)

    15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”

    Before Jesus was crucified, Peter told Jesus that he would die for Him, yet on the night that Jesus was on trial, Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus. Now, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. He not only asked if he loved Him, but did Peter love Him “more than these.”

    Job and money

    Peter was a fisherman, until he met Jesus.

    Matthew 4:18-20 (NASB)

    18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
    19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
    20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

    Jesus told Peter to leave everything he knew and follow Him, which Peter did. For over three years, Peter lived with and followed Jesus, traveling throughout the country of Israel, learning from and ministering to Jesus. They were supported by donations from other people.
    Now, after Jesus had been crucified and was raised from the dead, Peter was confused, so he went back to what he knew – he went fishing.

    The hard way

    John 21:1-3 (NASB)

    1 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.
    2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
    3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

    These were all experienced fishermen, but they caught nothing, even though they tried all night long. There are times when we do things in our own strength instead of asking Jesus what we should do, and all we get is tired.

    The easy way

    John 21:4-6 (NASB)

    4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
    5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”
    6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

    When we listen to the voice of God, and we follow His instructions, He will bless our efforts. Jesus asked Peter to bring some of the fish he caught and add them to the fish that He was already cooking for them on the shore. He reminded Peter that he was supposed to be a fisher of men, not fish, when He asked Peter if he loved Him “more than these.”
    God is able to provide. If we want His blessing, we need to be willing to work, but only do what He tells us to do, how He tells us to do it.

    More than the other disciples

    Matthew 26:33-35 (NASB)

    33 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”
    34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
    35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

    From what we see in the gospels, it seems that Peter was very impetuous, and he loved Jesus very much. I’m sure that he truly meant it when he told Jesus that he was willing to die for Him. Years later, Peter actually did die for Him.
    Was Jesus now asking Peter if he loved Him more than the other disciples? That’s what Peter had proclaimed in John 21. Was Peter ready to step up to the commitment he had made before?

    Peer pressure and fear

    Matthew 26:69-70 (NASB)

    69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
    70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

    After Jesus was arrested, Peter feared for his life. Right after he had said that he would die for Jesus, he denied knowing Him three times. Jesus was now asking Peter, “do you love Me more than these?” Was Peter ready to sacrifice what people thought of him, as well as his own physical safety? Do you love Me more than your own life?

    Family

    Luke 14:26 (NASB)

    26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

    In Luke 14, Jesus was not telling His disciples that we should hate each other, but that our love for Him compared to our love for even our family members should make it seem like that.
    One of the disciples was Peter’s actual blood brother. After three years together, the others were like brothers. Jesus was asking Peter “do you love Me more than these” other disciples? Do you love Me more than your family?

    The world

    Jesus could have been showing Peter the beautiful Sea of Galilee where he was just fishing, or the shoreline with all of the trees, or the incredible sunrise. He could have been pointing to Peter’s boat, the way he made a living and what he was comfortable with. He could have been pointing to the fish they had just caught. He could have been pointing to the other disciples.
    He probably meant all of the above. “Do you love Me more than these?”

    Our love

    I love watching sunrises and sunsets. I love seeing the incredible beauty that God has created. I love the wonderful family that He has given to me and my wife. I am grateful for my job and my house. In the grand scheme of things, though, seeing things from an eternal perspective, all of these things fade away when they are compared to my love for Jesus.
    Jesus loved us before we even knew Him. He gave everything that He had to give, and all He asks us for is our love.
    Do we love Jesus more than all of these?

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