HEARTS DESIRE FOR LOVE
Our loving God is a forgiving God.
“The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression…” Numbers 14:18
Knowing God loves YOU is the ONLY
thing that will give you TRUE identity
and security in this life.
Let me say that one more time!!!!
Knowing God loves us is the ONLY
thing that will give us TRUE identity
and security in THIS life.
“Whom have I in heaven but Thee?And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…” Psalm 73:25
Agape love (true love, Gods love) is the most precious and eternal EVIDANCE of our Christian faith.
When we choose the Way of Agape,
we are actually choosing life.
“Forever the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, TO love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul, in order that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. “Love NEVER fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease, if there is knowledge, it will be done away.” 1 Corinthians 13:6-8
It doesn’t matter how many people
you’ve led to the Lord, how many
Scriptures you’ve memorized, how many personal experiences you may of head or how many Bible studies you’ve taught; if you’re not FULLY convinced God loves you…there’s something missing.
Ephesians 4: 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the TRUTH IN LOVE, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
I think this is true of many people. We spend years chasing things in this world that we think will make us FEEL loved. But everything this world offers is temporary. Everything. Only two things will last for eternity with the Lord-people and the Word.
The kind of love our souls crave is lasting, eternal. And only God can fill up our hearts with that kind of love.
Psalms 119:88 In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of your mouth. 89 Your word, lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
The sad thing about chasing love outside the will of God— is it invites so much into our lives which is the exact opposite of love.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 is a picture of God’s perfect love. It is patient. It is kind. It does not envy… it is not self-seeking… it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth… it always protects… it always perseveres. Love never fails.
This is not a description of what is inherently ours when we fall in love with another person.
**It is a description of God’s love. And guess what? It is a description of God’s love for YOU.
This kind of love CAN be ours as we become MORE Christ-like and decide/choose to give this kind of love.
*This love is never focused inwardly.
*This love is never about what I’m going to get from another person.
It is deciding/Choosing this is the kind of love I will give away.
FALSE attempts at love will make us impatient, unkind, envious, self-seeking, resistant to the truth, reckless and temporary.
I am challenged by this. Because our souls were designed for God’s fulfilling love, if we aren’t staying closely connected to Him every day through His WORD, our hearts will start to feel empty. Restless. Unfulfilled.
I ask: Can we go a day without breathing? Answer is no we can not IF we want/choose to LIVE. Same with the Word of God being alive and active through the power of the Holy Spirit–if we want to LIVE we will be in the God-breathed Scripture daily.
The Bible is all for me, but not all the Bible is about me.
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Let us never get to the place where we think we are beyond being tempted in this way of not listening to the Holy Spirit in the Word daily. If we are all completely honest, we are only a few bad decisions away from a big mess.
While I have complete hope in God’s ability to restore my mess, the consequences of my chase for love will be severe on many levels.
The kind of love our souls crave will never be found in the things of this world.
Lasting and perfectly satisfying love will only be found when we stop chasing and start LIVING OUT(action) the TRUTHS of God in and through His Word.
1 Love is the point of life.
2 False ideas of love have devastating effects.
3 There are different types of love.
A) Eros ( sinful nature, desire)
B) Storge (An affectionate love, emotional attachment)
C) Philia ( Friendship love)
D) Agope (true love, Gods love)
4 Gods love is more than a feeling.
5 True love must be given away..
1 John 3:14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
Take a personal inventory of all that distracts us from time with our Lord, spouse, children and Friends. In every family this looks different, but it’s important to take an honest look at our own schedules and to adjust so that we can come alongside all in love as we walk through this tricky thing called life and be able to teach and experience love with them all.
If you will diligently and urgently seek the Lord’s face with all your heart instead of only looking for the Lord to manifest outwardly, HE will release you into a place of freedom and rest.
This inward connection:
* is where faith is born;
* it is the place where prayer is answered.
Come and commune with the Lord in the secret place, which is even hidden from all trouble and stress. Come into His rest and let the Lord establish you in peace and joy.
Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
1 JN 1: 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from ALL sin.
God I ask that you expose the darkest areas of my life in the deepest areas of my soul. May Your Light reveal them and bring them forth so that I may confess my sin and be clean and in pure fellowship with You. I want Your light to shine through me and be a light unto my path. Lead me in the paths that I take and may I, a broken vessel, be used by You to shine in this dark and broken world. Lead me where You want me to go.
Col. 3: 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. FORGIVE as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on LOVE, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Amen