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Articles Why is Love so Important? The Smart Love Prayer God’s Love is Our Love Loving God is Enough God’s Love What is God’s Love?
Dr. Bill Hanshew Rev. Dan Corse Kim Miller Nick Schneider Leon Gosiewski Melissa Shephed
Column AIM – An Inspirational Message
Kathy Weddle
Books Apple of His Eye and Hiding in His Love Decisions, Decisions, and more Decisions The Crocked Legged Foal The Fig Tree Has Sprouted and Awake! Rise & Glow
Kim Miller Nick J.Schreider Danielle Norris Leon Gosiewski
KIDZ SECTION Kidz Section - #ThinkGod
Anna Martin
WHY IS
LOVE SO IMPORTANT? by: Dr. Bill Hanshew John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”” Anyone who writes from a biblical perspective on the subject of love, will inevitably mention John 3:16. As you know, the greatest example of love ever given is how God so loved the entire world's population; past, present and future, that He sent His only Son, who in turn gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice, worthy and pure enough to pay for the entire sin debt, for the entire world. Now that is love, and all anyone must do to become a recipient of that love, is to invite Jesus to live in your heart. Now of course there is a lot more to love than just the fact
that God so loved, but it all starts there. So what can mankind learn from such a great example of love? Let’s look at a few New Testament verses. Mark 12:30-31 says, 30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Now, because all mankind had was the Old Testament law which was impossible to live by; Jesus gives two new commandments. He said to love God with everything that is in you, and then love others like you love yourself. And sometimes that seems like a difficult task.
Jesus even told us in Luke 6:35, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” Wow, love your enemies. That again is a tall order. When we think of enemies, we often think of war; fighting; arguments and so on. However, the example of loving enemies is God and He is even kind to the unthankful and evil. So for example, if someone becomes an enemy of Christianity, they become the
enemy of God. Yet God still has the ability to love them and tells us that we should love them also. Romans 12:9 NLT says, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” In other words, hate the act of sin, without hating the sinner. In other words, you can hate the act of hating, without hating the hater. And don’t just pretend to love them, but make a decision to love those you don’t get along with or those who try to do you wrong. Romans 13:10 says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” So, how can you fulfill the teachings of God’s Word? Remember who is your neighbor. Your neighbor is everyone else except you. You and I are to love them by being kind to them, even when it is, walking in love is extremely important. Our faith works in conjunction or in proportion to our love walk. 1 Corinthians 13:13 GWT says, “So these three things remain: faith,, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.” The best or greatest attribute of God is love and love will be the greatest witness of our Christianity. How great your encounter with God is, will be known by the expression of the
love you convey to others. 1 John 4:7-8 KJV says, 7 “ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” You and I cannot separate ourselves from the love of God. That’s the whole expression of Christ in you. If you know God intimately; then love is the fruit of God’s love in you. If you struggle with walking in love, the Bible will instruct you on how to love others like God does. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:25 for husbands to love their wives. Ephesians 5:33 NLT says, “Each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Are you getting the picture yet? Love is God’s main message to everyone. Love will be the force that keeps families together. It keeps Christians getting along, even if we don’t always agree. It will keep husbands and wives married for years and years. Colossians 3:14 AMP says, “And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony]” Love binds us together. So what happens when there is division in families, churches or
in marriages? If we chose to love, in spite of our differences, things just work out. But it is more than just choosing to love. Love must also be expressed in our actions and conversations. So are there times when we are not to love? 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” This doesn’t mean we are to hate the people who are in the world, but the ways of the world’s system. Now, the only thing that seems to get in the way of walking in love is human emotion. Yet human emotion can be trained by renewing your thoughts to the word of God. Why is love so important? 1 John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” The only way to love is to first understand how much God loves us, then to believe in that love. Finally, 1 John 4:20-21 says, “20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” A lack of loving one another is what keeps our world divided. If we are going to get along and move forward toward a better and more unified world, we must choose to love, even when
it seems to hurt our emotions. Do not let pride stand in your way and hinder you from the things God has for you. But love instead and remember
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Love people
even if you don’t love their actions. God loves you unconditionally. … Think about it!
It bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.
Love Never Fails. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
“The reason you pray over and over, For your answer to come;
Is because by the eyes of
FAITH,
You don’t see it as done. When you ask in prayer, For your manifestation to come;
FAITH says ‘YOU HAVE IT,’ So now rejoice and
BELIEVE it is done!”
THE SMART LOVE by: Rev. Dan Corse Love, the word is used in a myriad of ways. We speak of how we love our children. We speak of how we love our spouses, our friends. We speak of how we love our car. We speak of how we love our new home. With the varying uses of the word love in the English language, it is no wonder that when it comes to the New Testament we sometimes have difficulties determining just what kind of love it is God is speaking about. That is especially true in light of the fact that English translators of the Bible translate more than one Greek word love. We read the New Testament related to love and query, “Is He speaking about an emotional feeling? Or is He speaking about brotherly love? Or is He speaking about some other type of love?” Determining accurately what type of love God is referencing may seem trivial to some. However, if we desire to reflect love as He admonishes us to in our interactions with others it is imperative that we know just what type of love it is. Consequently, if we don’t know what type of love it is that He encourages us to reflect, how can we with certainty know we are fulfilling His desires? Related to this discussion, focusing on a Pauline prayer in Philippians involving the use of the word love, we will avoid the identified confusion related to the New Testament use of the word. How will we do that? We will do so by utilizing a method appropriate to use with any word
PRAYER translated love in the New Testament. We will first determine the exact word translated love and then identify specifically what that word as used means. We read in Philippians 1:9 (NKJ), “And this I pray, that your love may abound…” Love there is the Greek word “agape.” “Word Wealth” from the New Spirit Filled Life Bible defines agape: “A word to which Christianity gave new meaning…Agape denotes an undefeatable benevolence and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest level of good of the other person, no matter what he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is more a love by choice than phileo, which is love by chance; and it refers to the will rather than the emotion.” Understanding now the type of love that Paul identifies, let us next consider what it is that he prays this self-sacrificing love will abound in, grow stronger in or overflow in. Looking again at Philippians 1:9 (NKJ) we read, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment.” The Holy Spirit inspiring Paul to record this prayer yearns that our selfsacrificing love would abound more and more in knowledge and discernment. The Amplified Version provides further light, “that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in
knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment].” Clearly, God desires that our selfsacrificing love, our love that seeks the highest good of another person, abound in knowledge, insight and comprehensive discernment. Why? The first part of Philippians 1:10 (NKJ) tells us why, “that you may approve the things that are excellent.” Approve is “dokimazo.” Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines dokimazo: “to test, examine, scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not).” Thus, we see that God desires that our selfsacrificing love, our love that seeks the highest good of others, a love we are continually admonished to display, abounds or overflows in insight, knowledge and comprehensive discernment so we can test or examine things. Why are we to test or examine them? We are to see if they are excellent, or as the Amplified Version reveals, “So that you may surely learn
to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real
value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing moral differences].” And what result proceeds from our testing, examining or scrutinizing things to see if they are vital, excellent and of real value? The latter part of verse 10 reveals to us the result, “that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” To be “sincere” is to be pure, free from corruption and as Wey says “of transparent character.” “Without offense” speaks of our not stumbling or causing others to stumble. So, if we with discerning and insightful love test or scrutinize things as to their value or excellence it will result in our being pure and transparent Christians who avoid stumbling or causing others auti to slip as they progress in the faith. Let’s take a moment to further reflect about this process of examining things with a love that is full of knowledge, insight and comprehensive discernment. We do so in light of our opening remarks about confusion related to the word love and the necessity to know what type of love the Bible speaks about. As we recall, the love Paul speaks of in Philippians 1:9 is agape, love by choice not love as an emotion. Thus, our examining
things with this love (agape) filled with insight and discernment is not about how we feel, but about scrutinizing things as to their excellence based on our desiring the best for others in the light of Godgiven understanding. How does this examining correspond to our interactions with others? Specifically, let’s say that a family member or friend has challenges with an addiction. As a result of that addiction, he or she makes unhealthy choices and engages in selfdestructive behaviors. Emotional love, a love based on feelings, is often averse to making what we might call “tough choices” and thus is more prone to engage in enabling behaviors, behaviors that perpetuate the addiction. But agape filled with insight and discernment will not engage in behaviors that perpetuate the addiction. Agape will instead seek pathways for the addicted person that will empower them to find freedom from the addiction. For brevity’s sake we considered only one example of how emotional love and agape, love by choice, differ, in our example related to addictions. Yet, wisdom dictates our spending additional time considering how an insightful love based on choice (agape) will differ from a feelingsbased love. Why? It is imperative to
understand that emotional love, a love based merely on feelings, will differ from a self-sacrificing love full of insight and discernment in determining the excellence or value of things. Why? Understanding the difference empowers us to make the choices God would have us to make, which brings us to the final verse of Paul’s prayer. The conclusion we read in verse 11, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Our love (agape) abounding in all insight and discernment, empowering us to determine the things that are vital and excellent, assures that we will be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Being filled with those fruits insures that God will receive praise and glory. Our being fruitful and God receiving the praise and glory for that fruitfulness is always a good thing. Yet fruitfulness that results in God receiving praise and glory does not come about by chance. It comes about by our knowing that agape is a choice, not a feeling, and our praying that it grows in all discretion and discernment, empowering us to identify what is excellent. Such a prayer Christians should continually pray for one another; such a prayer we will identify as “The Smart Love Prayer.”
Picture by: Genice Fulton/Alaska
You can find Kimberly’s books on Amazon.com Get these books while they are still available! You will enjoy them, and they will touch your life!
Minister and Author, Kimberly Miller, has a powerful testimony of the healing and delivering power of God. Kimberly desires to touch lives everywhere she goes. Her love for truth and candid personality has led many to their path of freedom in Christ! Kimberly lives in the Midwest with her husband, Gary, and her two daughters, Briana and Brooke.
GOD’S LOVE IS OUR LOVE by: Kim Miller Many of us have heard that God loves us, but less of us really have a revelation of the love He has for us. As believers, we can grow in our revelation of God’s love for us. When we begin to get a revelation of His love for us, it will change our lives! Knowing God’s love for us will wipe out insecurity and fear. Many believers are bound by fear, especially the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” The fear of man is a trap of the devil to hold us back from being and doing all God has intended for us. When we grow in our revelation of God’s love, we will not be affected by the rejection of people. We will just continue on in our confidence in Him and not be hindered in what He’s called us to do. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” A revelation of God’s love for us causes us to run to Him, not from Him. We will understand that He is faithful God, who will not turn us away.
We will believe that we are forgiven and washed in the blood of Jesus, and we will not walk around like second class citizens full of condemnation and guilt. We can then boldly use the authority that Jesus has given us, in order to take hold of the things that Jesus has already taken hold of for us through His death and resurrection. Growing in a revelation of God’s love, will cause us to grow in our love walk. John 15:12 says, “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.” We cannot do this without a revelation of God’s love. If we do not really know that he loves us, we will not be able to love others, even through He has given us a new nature as born again believers. We will not know how to tap into the love of God that is inside our hearths by the Holy Spirit. His
love is in here and we can live on the outside who we are on the inside! Too many believers do not take God’s love seriously. They do not take the love He has for them seriously, or the love He has for others. He commanded us to love others. It is not a suggestion, or something we are to do, if we feel like it. It is a command. When we were born again, we gave up our rights to live life our own way. In serving in all different areas of ministry over the years, I have heard many believers say that walking in love is so difficult. It really does not have to be! We can grow in our revelation of God’s love by making decisions daily to feed on His Word, spend time fellowshipping with Him, and setting time aside daily specifically to pray in the spirit. A few years ago, the Holy Spirit dropped this into my spirit. He said, “Praying in the spirit helps keep us staying in the spirit.” Praying in tongues daily is a necessity! We must make a decision daily to walk in love. It is not based upon our feelings. We must understand that His love has been put in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and that we are a new creation, so we can walk in love. The Bible says that sin no longer has dominion over us. It is up to us whether or not we allow it. We must choose to put on the new man which is created in righteousness and true holiness See Ephesians 4:24 which says we are to speak who we are in Him, and who He is in us. We do it by faith, not feelings and
then we line our actions up with His Word. We choose to forgive, to be kind, and to pray for those who have wronged us. We are not to return evil for evil. Purpose in your heart to grow in your revelation of God’s love. The love of God is the very reason we are believers. Allow His love to change you and draw those around you to Him!
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LOVING GOD is enough by: Nick Schneider There are varying interpretations of what it is like to hear God's voice. For a long time, I had always listened for an inner audible voice that was going to say something like, “Hey Nick, it's God. This is what I want you to do.” Well, that is convenient and nice, and God does speak that way at times, but it doesn't usually work that way. If what we are hearing is from God, it won't be something that will cause harm, pain or suffering to anyone. God is a God of love and he wants his disciples –– you and I – to walk in the same kind of love as he showed us while he was on earth in human form. Experience has shown me that usually God's voice comes as spontaneous thought, a vision, a feeling or an impression. For example, have you been driving down the highway or a
street and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Do you believe it was God telling you to pray? Habakkuk knew the sound of God speaking to him. In Habakkuk. 2:1-2, we read: “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald (or whoever reads it) may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it (faith); it will certainly come and will not delay.” Elijah described it as a still, small voice –– described as a 'gentle whisper' in I Kings 19:12.
What did God's voice sound like? It is Spirit-level communication. It is spontaneous thoughts, impressions or visions. Sometimes to understand scripture or a word we have to search its origin. When we pray for someone it is called intercession. The Hebrew word for intercession is 'paga', which means “a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting." That's what God does when he lays people on our hearts to pray for.
A big key to being able to hear God's voice speaking to us is being able to slow down and listen. To hear God's voice we have to slow down in our prayer time and listen. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to be still, and know that He is God. There is a deep inner knowing spontaneous flow in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense our own thoughts, not God's. Listening to a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. After I worship and become silent within, I can open myself up for that flow and hear what God is saying. Dreams and visions are another way to hear God's voice, His directives His light on your path. Habakkuk was actually looking for vision as he prayed. He opened the eyes of his heart, and looked into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. God told Habakkuk 'write down' the vision in Habakkuk 2:2. This was not an isolated command. I believe it is encouraging to our soul to see those prayers and blessed answers before us.
Also, God can and does speak to us through His scripture. When I am led to a particular scripture that addresses one of my concerns or prayer requests, I'm not bashful about grabbing a pen and underlining it or highlighting it with a marker. I sometimes jot down a date beside it as a reminder or a marker point when God showed me this truth. If you have a Bible that is too good to mark in and write in, then you probably need to buy one that you can do that with. I am glad and rejoice that the loving God we serve is able. God is able to lift us up when we can't do it ourselves.
God is able to encourage us when all we see is darkness and no hope. God is able to open doors where there are no doors. God was able when I was running the other way and making poor choices. God's love will never abandon us, falter from us or fail us. God's mercy enables us to get back up. God has been there for us, even when we were not there for him. Today, let us remember those lessons learned and the love felt from God. In 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul is writing to Christians living in the Greek town of Thessalonica. The faith of the people in this town is undermined and tested. To help them, Paul encourages them to remember. Why? Because there is something extremely powerful about remembering. Remembering God’s work and God's love in our past is the key to getting perspective to do God’s will in the present. In his letter, Paul reminds them about what God did in their lives and the cost that was
involved to deliver the Gospel message to them. Paul also reminds them of God’s motherly and fatherly love and how God used him and others to care for them. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, "You know, brothers and sisters that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition." Also look at 2 Corinthians 4:716 in New Living Translation to get a clear look at the faith and perseverance of Paul. It reads: “But this precious treasure –– this light and power that now shine within us –– is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because
we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, and so I speak." We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” Just like the Thessalonians, we need to remember. To get perspective, we need to step back from the problems at hand and see them in light of history, our experiences, and who God really is. Describing God is almost beyond words. The attributes of God are many. The word God is three simple letters, but they mean so much in our own personal lives. Have you ever really thought about who God is to you? Read through the pages of Scripture and we become amazed, almost overwhelmed,
by His magnitude, His power and influence on all that is, was or will be. When we talk about the attributes of God we are talking about His nature—who God is in His manifested character. God is the Trinity –– three persons, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, not three Gods. God is Love in the truest sense. God is Omnipotent (allpowerful). God is Omniscient (allknowing). God is Omnipresent (present everywhere). God is Self-existent. If not, who created God? God is Holy. God is the Creator of all. God is Alive. God is Supreme. God is Giving. God is Forgiving. God is Compassionate, God is Approachable. God is Creative. God is Merciful. God is Understanding. God is Honest. God is Capable. God is Accepting. God is not judgmental. God is Wise. God is Hope. God is Mercy. God is Grace. God is Truth. God is Righteous. God is Consistent.
God is Ever-present. God is Powerful. God Satisfies. God is Compassionate. God is Just. God is a Healer. God is a Redeemer. God is able to deliver. God is the King above all kings. God is Kind. God is Gracious. God is Sovereign. God is Eternal. God is Unchangeable.
God is the refresher for our mind, spirit and soul. God is Faithful. God is Caring. God is beyond compare. God is Good. God is the Alpha. God is the Omega. God is Enough. The list of 'God is' could go on and on.
We can read in Isaiah 45:5 that there is only one God. It reads: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.� As we see the sunrises and sunsets, the regularity of the seasons, the laws of nature, we are drawn to the fact that God is behind all of it. We can be thankful that God chose us.
Decisions, Decisions, and more Decisions Written by: Nick J. Schreider Nick’s book, Decisions, Decisions, and more Decisions illustrates some life lessons for your children, grandchildren, and young friends. The aim of the short stories is to teach and encourage. Join Nick as his fictional character, Jimbo, grows up and meets many challenges. Jimbo will take you through 10 short stories that will help both child and parent through hard times such as bullying, studying, avoiding injuries, and many more. Nick’s background as a news and sports reporter, feature writer, and editor for nearly 40 years gives him the necessary training as a book writer, however, he never saw himself as a children’s book writer. Sometimes God has a different plan. You can purchase your own copies of Decisions, Decisions, and more Decisions directly from Nick by contacting him at:
schneider.nick@gmail.com or at one of the following:
Amazon USA Amazon Europe Amazon Kindle CreateSpace.
COUPLES NEED A NEW PHOTO FOR
DAY?
by: Kathy Weddle I Corinthians 13:4-8, The Message: “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies”. The most beautiful description of perfect love ever written. So many forms and so many levels. Love holds the universe together; love orders the steps of history before it happens.
At the conception of a brand new human, Love is there, orchestrating the planned outcome. “Before my inward parts were formed You, that is Love, the Father knew me�. When I consider all that went into the assembly of a human being, cell by precious cell, I am overwhelmed by the Love that planned it. The Father planned love at every stage and in every relationship of life. Love is seen everywhere: In the tail of a happy puppy with his master. In the delighted giggle of a baby with her mother In the healing touch of a mother nursing her sick child Aching back of a hard working father at the end of the day; still, with energy to play catch with his boy In the prayers of a pastor interceding for the people entrusted to him In the eyes of young lovers in their early season In the eyes of lifetime lovers in their final season In the life of the soldier that senses he’ll not go home again alive, giving his freedom of life for our freedom to live In the chance police and firemen take to protect perfect strangers in the threat of their own lives In the family budget cut back to allow more giving for the sake of souls, water, food, medicine and clothes for those with none In the Sacrifice of our Jesus for our eternal well-being In the turning of our Heavenly Father when He could not look on His Son who had taken on sin and disease for our salvation In this month of love, Let me challenge each of us to search out an unloved one and love them.
THE CROOKED LEGGED FOAL A children’s book for young readers. Your children will love the illustrations as well as the unique story line of Danielle’s book. The Crooked Legged Foal will teach your children that they can overcome the obstacles of life. This true story of a foal that was born a little different is perfect for an audience that may face struggles of their own.
Danielle Norris
is a writer and illustrator of
Children’s Books. If you write books, but are not an artist, Danielle will be happy to do the illustrations for your books.
You can find Danielle’s book at: Amazon.com Or contact her on Facebook at: Art, Photography, Grooming https://m_facebook.com/ArtPhotoGrooming
GOD’S LOVE By: Leon Gosiewski
Most Christian believers will of course happily say God loves them, after all He proved it by allowing His beloved Son to die on the cross. For many this is in reality nothing more than head knowledge that particularly shows itself in times of need. It is these needy times where we lack the assured conviction that God loves us so much that He will answer our prayer appeal. It is these times when we say such things as, ‘it is not His will to heal me’ even though this sentiment cannot be found in scripture! The point I am making is that possessing head knowledge that says God loves us limits our ability to believe in our heart that what God says really does apply to us; to you and me. When we do not have relational and revelatory knowledge of
God’s love in our hearts we do not truly believe that His will and intent is to heal us; that His will is to provide all our needs according to His great riches; that He actually does want to pour out His gifts upon us so that we walk supernatural, holy lives. Clearly something is not right, but what is missing? Well that is a big question in the sense that we are all different, with different experiences but there are some common features that affect the flow of love. For example, in our human experiences it is quite possible for a person to love another but for that love not to have a reciprocal response. In this situation it does not matter how much love is given and shown, if a response is not forthcoming the
flow is hindered or even broken. This is in fact what happens in our relationship with God. He loves us but for different reasons we do not reciprocate that love. To help us understand what underlies this mismatch let’s consider a pertinent question, ‘why does God bother with me a sinner who has treated Him with incredible contempt?’ Some reading this may not like the blunt and
uncompromising wording I have used but they come from a heart that has come to realize the dreadful truth that sin in our lives is ultimately a display of disrespect directly against God. Any attempt to belittle this fact may help to ease our conscience but in doing this it is also in danger of denying both the offense against God and the incredible depth of His unfathomable love in forgiving us. To illustrate what I mean, David sinned with and against another person but he had the awareness and relational understanding with God not to leave it just as an act against another person, this is why he said, ‘Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight’ (Psalm 51: 4 NKJV). In this statement David shows his understanding that sin against others is actually sin against God. David realized something that most of us do not realize - he was hurting God! What we need to fully understand is God created us, you and me in His image (Genesis 1: 7). We are in this sense part of Him that is why; when we turn to Him we become His children. Not adopted, not illegitimate but His children and He loves us as His own. David fully understood this point and so he made no attempt to hide the fact that sin has widespread consequences;
and those consequences include offending Father God. This is why on coming to his right mind David spent time pleading with God for forgiveness. As we read further through the fifty-first Psalm it is also quite clear that David knew God’s love would recognize his genuine, humble and contrite repentance plea and forgive his offence. Although a bad situation had arisen David begins to help us understand some deep truths about God’s love that are clearly exposed through the question, ‘why does God bother with us?’. It is questions such as this that immediately create a challenge, which we either dismiss by denial or meet with honest recognition. You see the question I have posed immediately raises two important key points: 1. It recognizes God is a God of love. It recognizes that God does actually bother or care about you and me even though we sin against Him and often treat Him badly. 2. It also recognizes that we are unworthy sinners. We in fact admit we are far from perfect. We admit that we are undeserving of God’s love. These two points are important because a lack of understanding and revelation about God’s
love for us hinders our faith walk with Him. What I mean here is that if we do not fully grasp the fact that God genuinely loves us we continue guilt or unworthy feelings about ourselves that prevent us from truly believing that God not only wants but will do good things for us. The Psalmist provides an insight into God’s love through these words: ‘O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!’ (Psalm 118: 1) Here we can see that the Psalmist not only knew in his heart but also experienced that God cannot help loving us because as John later said, ‘God is love’ (1 John 4: 8). In other words God is love and, love is God so if we want to know what true love is we need to know God. The wonderful thing about love is that it is not passive. It is constantly active and giving. It is reliable because love is love; it keeps on loving. In fact God is so full of unwavering love for each one of us that He did not even spare His only and beloved Son from the suffering, indignity and pain He bore on the cross of Calvary. It is for this reason that Paul wrote: ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5: 8). Why did He actually do this? It is because of a love that is so deep that it will do whatever is actually needed to actively and positively express itself. God’s love is clearly expressed through forgiveness, grace and sacrifice even to death. God has done everything so that we, you and I could have the price of our sin paid in full when we choose to take the free-will option of turning by faith back to Him. The simple fact is this, God loves you whoever you are. You, yes you, not someone else are special to Him. This amazing act of love does not, as some have mistakenly thought stop when we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour by faith. As we commit more of
ourselves to God, He gives more of Himself to us: ‘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’ (Deuteronomy 7: 9). This scripture helps us to see that love is infectious. When we are obviously shown love we can love back that is why we are also expected to love one another. Some however talk about God’s love in a lovey-dovey way and while this may show a connective love it would be misleading to think that love is always soft and easy. Those that are not disciplined and chastised are not true children of God (Hebrews 12: 6 – 9). There are times when love has to discipline.
Leon is available to speak, sign books at conferences, and hold healing meetings. You can contact him by email at: Renewedlifehealing ministries@gmail.com
Over thirty years ago I remember as if it were yesterday disciplining my eldest daughter. I warned her not to do something. She tested the warning. I said a second time, if you continue to do that I will have to take action. She again tested my warning and I carried out my chastisement. When I think about this incident, even now it brings tears to my eyes. I wonder how often God sheds a tear over us. I did not like taking action but my daughter never crossed that line again and she says today how much she appreciated being kept on track – it proved my love for her. The discipline and chastisement of God are because He loves us: ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives’ (Hebrews 12: 5, 6)
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WHAT IS
GOD’S LOVE? by: Melissa Shepherd My first experience with God's love came when I was a child and was touched by His love in the church pew during the invitation to salvation one Sunday. It felt as if God was surrounding me and filling me with Himself. I knew it was God, I knew I needed Him, and I knew He was extending His gift of love to me, Jesus. As I prayed the prayer of salvation, I was filled with a fullness inside of goodness, of hope, of acceptance. I was loved. God loves us immensely and He sent His love in Jesus to redeem us, bless us and give us everlasting life. In the New Testament, the Greek word used to describe God's love is 'agape'. What is God's agape love? In the Greek Lexicon, agape is described as “God's kind of love, full of benevolence, good will, welcoming, affection, to love dearly.” When we receive and love Jesus, we are receiving God's love. Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” John 14:9 Jesus went everywhere and loved people. He loved them as he saved them,
healed them, provided for them, comforted them, resurrected them, taught them, and empowered them. Jesus is the exact image of God and His actions show us God's love for us. When we receive God's love in Jesus, we are born of the Holy Spirit of God who pours this great love into us. Romans 5:5 The evidence of that love will be seen in us in the manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit of God: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 Our hearts are transformed by God's love in us and we will be able to operate in God's love in every situation if we allow it to come forth. Scripture tells us that God is love. 1 John 4:8 Love is described in 1 Corinthians and gives us an illustration of what we can expect God's love to be toward us. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 4 Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not
itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; 6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails... God's love is always extended to us and no power, no thing, no circumstance can stop His great love toward us. We can trust and have faith in God's love for us, and through us. Romans 8:35, 38-39 35 Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. A few weeks ago, I was again reminded of God's great love toward us. For several years, I had been enduring pain in my back from a ruptured disk after multiple accidents; the pain began to rapidly increase during the last half of 2014. I could see in the natural that the symptoms were increasing, but I also remembered God's promise that I was healed by the stripes of Jesus, I Peter 2:24. Day after day, when the pain would increase, I prayed and I declared that God's life and love is upon me and in me through Christ, that my healing was paid for by the stripes of Jesus himself. I demanded healing to come to me
in the name of Jesus. I confessed multiple times a day that God is my healer! Days went by, weeks went by, it did not look like I would ever be whole and pain free. One day, the Spirit of God indicated to me that I would be going to a revival service in two days on Friday, December 5, 2014. I prayed and said, “Ok Lord, please help me to attend and have enough strength and not too much pain.” Friday came and my husband and I went to the revival service. It was a wonderful service at a Native American church, so full of the presence of the Lord. After the guest minister finished with a powerful sermon, he called for people to come up that believed for healing. As I was waiting for the minister to pray for me, I was praying to God. I prayed silently, “I know you love me, you have shown me your love in so many ways. Now according to your Word that I was healed through Jesus' stripes, I receive that healing
Bill Shepherd Ministries Bill and Melissa Shepherd PO Box 35686 Tulsa, OK 74153 www.billshepherdministries.org http://facebook.com/billshepherdministries http://facebook.com/revivalonourdoorstep email: faith@billshepherdministries.org 918-355-0059
now; please heal what needs to be healed so that I can do your will.” As the minister stepped in front of me, he said, “God is healing your back!” I did not even say a word to the man about my back, God showed him. The minister touched my hands, and the fire of God went down my back, and all the pain left immediately. Immediately. Every day since then, I cannot contain my thanksgiving and my appreciation toward God. I can do so many things now for my home and family that I could not do before! God's love is amazing and wonderful and can heal anything that is broken in your life and body. Whatever circumstances we face in our lives, we can know of God's faithful love toward us, that His love will not fail us, but will be there to help us and strengthen us. God's Love will never fail.
For
GOD so loved the WORLD
That
HE gave His only SON John 3:16
KIDZ SECTION Hey Kidz! So this month I have been very busy, so my Grandma is going to take my place and tell you all a little bit about love. Yea, she is older, but hear what she has to say, ok? Anna
#ThinkGod
So, how many of you kids out there have social media accounts? How about Instagram? I know several kids and teens that have Instagram accounts. It’s fun, right? Especially those hashtags! #hashtagmeback! Kids and teens, hear me out. When you post hashtags, there is a reason. Maybe you want your friends to give you more likes than another friend is getting. Maybe you want your new outfit to get more likes than someone else’s new outfit. So you might add a hashtag like this: #likemynewoutfit? Or, #giveme50likes. Then, in your mind, you base your self-worth on how many likes you get. Remember don’t base your self-worth on what other kids say or think. Always remember to base your self-worth ONLY on what God thinks about you. Had YOU been the only one on earth, Jesus would have gave His life just for you. He loves you that much. So if you like Instagram and you like to post hashtags, just have fun with it. Only base your self-worth on what God thinks of you, not other kids. #thinkGod Get it? THINK GOD, NOT THANK GOD…Yes, you can THANK Him for all He has done for
you, but stop and THINK….THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU……#ThinkGod Faye Hanshew
IS PATIENT IS KIND
LOVE
IT DOES NOT ENVY IT DOES NOT BOAST IT IS NOT PROUD IT IS NOT RUDE IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING IT ISNOT EASILY ANGERED KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH ALWAYS PROTECTS ALWAYS TRUSTS ALWAYS HOPES ALWAYS PERSERVES
NEVER FAILS
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While the views expressed in Faith Unlimited do not necessarily reflect the policy of the government, no official endorsement should be inferred. All views and comments expressed in Faith Unlimited are solely the opinions of the writers and not necessarily the opinions of the readers. Faith Unlimited e-magazine is a ministry of Worship & Word Fellowship & Ministries, Inc. Faith Unlimited Staff reserves the right to edit, reject and refuse any materials submitted to us
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