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What is Love?
What is love???
God's love is agape
I am aware that agape love is not inherent in me due to my flawed nature. Only the Holy Spirit can provide this divine love, which has been bestowed upon me as a child of God.
Our fallen nature, is incapable of producing such a love.
If we are to love as God loves, that love—being agape—can only come from its Source, the Holy Spirit. This is the love that “has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. When we became His children. " (Romans 5:5 & Galatians 5:22)
How do we know love?
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us & we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers & sisters.” -1 John 3:16.
Because of God’s love towards us, we are able to love one another. Not the other way around.
God is love...
Who God is, is what Love is.
He defines & establishes Love, not us.
John says: "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8
Have you ever felt the deep sadness & guilt that comes from having the intention to honor Jesus with your actions, but the failure of attaining that perfection?
We live on this fallen side of Heaven still, we are bound to the limits of the flesh & it aches realizing the Truth, that I am truly unworthy of God’s love & grace.
Yet, Jesus says: “I will never let you go. I will not let you go. I will not turn you over to what you deserve, but I will lavish my grace on you. I will walk with you. I will not leave you.”
Jesus didn’t die for the good & perfect, but He died for the lost & broken.
Paul says, “God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: While we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8,
Christ died for the sinful us, the struggling us, the broken & ugly us. He will be there for His sheep, always with open arms.
Why?
Because His love for His sheep was never given based on our own goodness or merit.
He chose us, He loved us, wanted us, & sent His son to die for us while we were in full rebellion against Him.
He says He will NEVER leave His sheep, NEVER..
The only hope we have is the Power of that Cross.
Jesus says He does NOT deal with us according to our sin, but abounds in steadfast & long suffering love & mercy.
The Lord forgives our iniquity, He forgives ALL.
1st John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, He is just & faithful to forgive us of ALL our sins.
God pleasure in forgiving His sheep, it gives Him Glory. God can, & does forgive, it is who He is. If we confess our sins to Him, He lifts those burdens off of us.
Not only are we forgiven, but the pit we've put ourselves in, God says He will redeems us out from.
And not only are we forgiven & redeemed from our own sinful wickedness, but then we are crowned with His steadfast love & mercy. Undeservingly Crowned by Him.
Though I have sinned against God & belittled His name through my words.
Though I have not trusted Him through & through..
Though I have spat in His face with my rebellion, in my moments of weakness.
He is still tender towards me. He is tender to us.
He doesn’t hate us, though we do deserve His hate. That's why Jesus died, because we deserve His wrath.
In His love, He is gracious with us.
It's awe inspiring & humbling thinking about how Jesus received a crown of thorns, though He deserved a crown of glory & in stark contrast, we sinners receive a crown of gentleness & mercy, though we deserved the crown of thorns.
This love of His surpasses all human understanding.
The contrast is intense between recognizing the dense weight of my sinful nature & also accepting how loved I really am by the Perfect & Holy Creator of the universe.
When we see our sins as bad as they actually are, we can feel like as if we can’t accept His forgiveness, it can feel as if we are imposters because it feels as if we are somehow lessening the gravity of our sin, or it can feel like we're abusing His grace.
Does God hate us for a period of time until we get our attitude together, then when we fix ourselves, we are forgiven? No, He loves us through all trials, if we are His...
Scripture says, The LORD is merciful & gracious, slow to anger & abounding in steadfast love.
We see that we’ve rebelled against God. That’s what makes sin so evil. We spit in His face.
In moments of weakness, we walk our own way saying through our actions & behaviors, “I don’t care what you say God. I don't care about You.”
& we run to selfishness, greediness, laziness, gossip, crude language, idols, self-righteousness, & lies..
As we run towards these things, we are running away from God. Running from the ONLY One who has TRULY loved us and done what is best for us.
Why?
Because we still fear the Light,
we fear exposure,
we...
God's love is agape
I am aware that agape love is not inherent in me due to my flawed nature. Only the Holy Spirit can provide this divine love, which has been bestowed upon me as a child of God.
Our fallen nature, is incapable of producing such a love.
If we are to love as God loves, that love—being agape—can only come from its Source, the Holy Spirit. This is the love that “has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. When we became His children. " (Romans 5:5 & Galatians 5:22)
How do we know love?
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us & we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers & sisters.” -1 John 3:16.
Because of God’s love towards us, we are able to love one another. Not the other way around.
God is love...
Who God is, is what Love is.
He defines & establishes Love, not us.
John says: "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8
Have you ever felt the deep sadness & guilt that comes from having the intention to honor Jesus with your actions, but the failure of attaining that perfection?
We live on this fallen side of Heaven still, we are bound to the limits of the flesh & it aches realizing the Truth, that I am truly unworthy of God’s love & grace.
Yet, Jesus says: “I will never let you go. I will not let you go. I will not turn you over to what you deserve, but I will lavish my grace on you. I will walk with you. I will not leave you.”
Jesus didn’t die for the good & perfect, but He died for the lost & broken.
Paul says, “God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: While we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8,
Christ died for the sinful us, the struggling us, the broken & ugly us. He will be there for His sheep, always with open arms.
Why?
Because His love for His sheep was never given based on our own goodness or merit.
He chose us, He loved us, wanted us, & sent His son to die for us while we were in full rebellion against Him.
He says He will NEVER leave His sheep, NEVER..
The only hope we have is the Power of that Cross.
Jesus says He does NOT deal with us according to our sin, but abounds in steadfast & long suffering love & mercy.
The Lord forgives our iniquity, He forgives ALL.
1st John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, He is just & faithful to forgive us of ALL our sins.
God pleasure in forgiving His sheep, it gives Him Glory. God can, & does forgive, it is who He is. If we confess our sins to Him, He lifts those burdens off of us.
Not only are we forgiven, but the pit we've put ourselves in, God says He will redeems us out from.
And not only are we forgiven & redeemed from our own sinful wickedness, but then we are crowned with His steadfast love & mercy. Undeservingly Crowned by Him.
Though I have sinned against God & belittled His name through my words.
Though I have not trusted Him through & through..
Though I have spat in His face with my rebellion, in my moments of weakness.
He is still tender towards me. He is tender to us.
He doesn’t hate us, though we do deserve His hate. That's why Jesus died, because we deserve His wrath.
In His love, He is gracious with us.
It's awe inspiring & humbling thinking about how Jesus received a crown of thorns, though He deserved a crown of glory & in stark contrast, we sinners receive a crown of gentleness & mercy, though we deserved the crown of thorns.
This love of His surpasses all human understanding.
The contrast is intense between recognizing the dense weight of my sinful nature & also accepting how loved I really am by the Perfect & Holy Creator of the universe.
When we see our sins as bad as they actually are, we can feel like as if we can’t accept His forgiveness, it can feel as if we are imposters because it feels as if we are somehow lessening the gravity of our sin, or it can feel like we're abusing His grace.
Does God hate us for a period of time until we get our attitude together, then when we fix ourselves, we are forgiven? No, He loves us through all trials, if we are His...
Scripture says, The LORD is merciful & gracious, slow to anger & abounding in steadfast love.
We see that we’ve rebelled against God. That’s what makes sin so evil. We spit in His face.
In moments of weakness, we walk our own way saying through our actions & behaviors, “I don’t care what you say God. I don't care about You.”
& we run to selfishness, greediness, laziness, gossip, crude language, idols, self-righteousness, & lies..
As we run towards these things, we are running away from God. Running from the ONLY One who has TRULY loved us and done what is best for us.
Why?
Because we still fear the Light,
we fear exposure,
we...
