The Truth about Love

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​There are three common types of love. Each one is distinctly different, but we can feel all of them at one time - for one person or many people. EROS is passionate physical love. It includes sensual desires and longing.

Relationships built only on Eros usually end when sexual passion wanes. That is why people have affairs or casual physical relationships. Therefore, marriage needs more than Eros to survive.

PHILIA means friendship and connotes affectionate love between friends and family. It displays dispassionate camaraderie. Philia includes loyalty to friends, family and community. It exhibits Godly virtue, impartiality and delight.

Philia denotes a friendly type of affection between family and friends. It is a desire for companionship and enjoying activities with each other. Having a friendship with the people in your life and enjoying time to play, pray and share in common pursuits is vital in any relationship.

AGAPE means unconditional love. It refers to a deep sense of God's pure, holy love. Instead of the sexual attraction of Eros or the deep affection of Philia, Agape is sacrificial.

Agape provides us with the feeling of contentment and satisfaction as we put each other first and highly esteem one another as better than our self (Philippians 2:3-4). True love takes effort and is not dependent on the other person.

Christ lives in us and is love personified. Regardless of how someone treats us, we love them with God's love within us. It is not how we feel, but what we do to express God's love to one another.

This does not mean that we do not honestly communicate to others how their behavior makes us feel; but we never give up on the relationship. We may have to establish boundaries, but we keep the relationship active.

Love is not what we expect from others, but what we provide for those in our life whom we care about. We are called to love one another, just as Christ loves us. Sometimes, that is a tall order to fill.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to display love to our parents, spouse, children, church family and even strangers regardless of how they treat us. This is only possible as we submit to Your will for our life and allow Your Spirit to reprogram our thinking to have the mind of Christ. Remind us that once we have this spiritual love, then the physical and the emotional feelings will follow after it.

Cause us to submit our self to You and to resist the devil. Then he must flee from us (James 4:7). His destructive suggestions that putting our self first, estrangement and divorce are not wrong, and that You want us to be happy, will vanish with his departure. Remind us that You want us to be holy. Help us to develop Agape love for others as we focus on submitting our self to You. 

Thought for the Day:

Most people realize that we are far from loving one another with true self-sacrificing, lasting and sincere love; Eros and Philia come and go throughout the years, and they are never intense for long periods of time, but Agape lasts forever.

Unfailing Love

All creation tells of God's glory, and no one has an excuse not to believe in Him, because of the beauty and marvel of nature (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20). All of nature praises God. The trees and rivers sing for joy and clap their hands (Psalm 92:12, 98:8; Isaiah 55:12; 1 Chronicles 16:33). Even the rocks will cry out in praise to God, if His people fail to exalt Him (Luke 19:40).

God is righteous and demands perfection; yet He proved His love to us by sending His only son to pay the debt for our sins. Jesus also gave us His perfect righteousness (John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God always forgives our transgressions and redeems us from our sins (Psalm 130:8: 1 John 1:9). God is an awesome God and He reigns in heaven and on earth (Psalm 68:35, 47:8).

God is a mighty warrior on our behalf. We find our contentment in His presence in our life (2 Chronicles 16:9; Zephaniah 3:17). Even if the earth quakes and volcanoes shatter the mountains, God's unfailing love for His people will never be shaken. His promise of peace will never be taken away from us (Isaiah 54:10). God's love for us is unconditional (Romans 5:8; Psalm 86:15).

His love does not rely on our behavior, but on His commitment to all of those who hope in Him (Psalm 33:22). God actually takes pleasure in those who trust in His steadfast love (Psalm 147:11). As we hope in God's affection for us, He keeps His eye on us (Psalm 33:18). We are never alone and He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). Since He loved us before we ever loved Him, we can also love one another (1 John 4:9-11).

Prayer:

Father God, we are more than conquerors in life because of Your love for us. Once we put our trust in You, nothing could ever separate us from Your love, which You give us through Christ Jesus, our Lord (Romans 8:37-39). You are rich in mercy. You made us alive spiritually along with Jesus, because of your love for us (Ephesians 2:4-5). Thank you for caring about every detail of our life (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Thought for the Day:

God's plan for authentic Believers is to prosper us, never to harm us and to give us hope for our future. - Jeremiah 29:11

The Holiness, Rest and Presence of God

Who is mankind, that our holy God would give us a moment of His attention? We are nothing, worthless and the foulest form of life on this planet. 

Yet, God lowered Himself below the angels, and became a man, in order to save us and to bring us into eternity with Him forever (Psalm 8:4-6). Amazingly, God gives us His full consideration, care and affection now and always (Job 7:17).

If we relinquish control of our life to God's Spirit, He brings us into the presence of our Father God through Jesus Christ, illuminates God's Word to us and guides us to do God's will (John 14:26). 

The Spirit then begins the lifelong process of sanctifying us as His holy temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). He slowly transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ's perfect, divine nature (Romans 8:29; 2 Peter 1:4).

Each moment of our day, the Holy Spirit endeavors to bring us into the rest of God. We thwart Him by filling our hours with busyness. We cause our self to experience fits of stress and high blood pressure, because we do not allow our self to enter into God's rest (Hebrews 4:10). 

Yet, God's Spirit continually draws us ever deeper into fellowship with God until we finally, completely surrender to Him.

Then, we learn to walk in the holiness of God's precepts. His Spirit puts His love in our hearts for one another, so that we are proof of His existence (John 13:34-35). 

Christ in us loves the brethren through us by His Holy Spirit. As we seek God first, His Spirit will direct us in loving one another according to His will, without enabling one another.

Prayer: 
Father God, our ultimate joy is to live in Your presence, filled with Your Son, Jesus, and empowered by Your Spirit, who abides in us. Christ in us is our only hope of entering into Your glorious Kingdom (Colossians 1:27). 

Give us a burden for the lost, so we can reclaim them for Your Kingdom (Mark 16:15). Even the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents and comes back to You (Luke 15:10).

Thought for the Day:

May we surrender our every waking moment into service for our God and King.

God Transforms and Establishes Us In Him

We receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, but then we have no idea what to do with Him. Paul tells us to walk in Him, to sink our roots into Him and to be built up in Him. In this way, we are established in our faith and abound in Him for every good work (Colossians 2:6-7). This has nothing to do with the exercise of self-discipline (Galatians 3:1-3). It has everything to do with the grace and mercy of God. Our only command is to believe (John 3:16-18). Yet, God even helps us in our unbelief (Mark 9:23-25).

There are impediments to belief. Our guilt, our penchant toward sin, our carnal flesh, our pride and willfulness, our fears and doubts all plague us. They build a wall around our spiritual growth. Slowly, over the years, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness and demolishes these walls (1 John 1:7-9). He builds up our faith by allowing trials to cleanse us from our deepest fears and insecurities. He whittles away at our pride, and allows us to experience humiliation until we are humbled.

We come to realize that we did not earn our salvation and neither can we earn our sanctification (Galatians 3:1-3). We do not deserve Christ, but He loved us even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). God empties us of our self and fills us with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19). Jesus leads us into a walk of intimate fellowship with Himself. If we sit in His presence and empty our mind of all thoughts and stress, He pours His love over us like a waterfall, until we are saturated with His affection and care.

God fills us with His joy, holiness and spiritual fruit as we come to a place of abiding in His presence each moment of the day (Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22-23). It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). He holds us securely in His everlasting arms. We can depend on Him for all of our needs and the strength and wisdom to walk in His will moment by moment throughout the day. We walk in confidence as His Spirit directs our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If we are in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He lives the Christian life through us. Due to His presence, we deny our flesh, obey His Spirit’s direction and study His Word to show our self approved and not ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). We realize that nothing is impossible to those who believe in God (Luke 1:37). Our life depends upon every Word that ensues from His mouth (Matthew & Luke 4:4). God grafts us into the Vine (Jesus) so that we partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Prayer:

Father God, even in our times of remorse and despair, You remind us that we are Your beloved children. You breathe hope, peace and joy into our soul regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11). You accomplish Your wondrous work in us and for us, as You work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). We rejoice in Your divinity within us and we thank You for Your presence forevermore (1 Peter 1:4). As our thoughts permanently dwell on You, Your living Word transforms our life into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

Thought for the Day:

We can thoroughly depend upon Christ to fulfill His promises to us, both now on this earth and also in eternity.

 

A Spiritual Overhaul

We receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, but then we have no idea what to do with Him after that! Paul tells us to walk in Him, to sink our roots into Him and to be built up in Him. In this way, He establishes our faith and we abound in Him (Colossians 2:6-7). This has nothing to do with the exercise of self-discipline (Galatians 3:1-3). It has everything to do with the grace and mercy of God. Our only command is to believe (John 3:16-18). Yet, God even helps us in our unbelief (Mark 9:23-25). We do not deserve Christ, but He loved us even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

There are impediments to our Christian walk. Our guilt, our penchant toward sin, our carnal flesh, our pride and willfulness, our fears and doubts all plague us. They build a wall around our spiritual growth. However, over the years, God slowly cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9). He builds our faith by allowing trials in the areas of our deepest fears and insecurities. He whittles away at our pride, and allows us to experience humiliation until we are humbled. We come to realize that we did not earn our salvation and neither can we earn our sanctification (Galatians 3:1-3). God slowly empties us of our self and fills us with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19).

Jesus leads us into a walk of intimate fellowship with Himself. He pours His love over us like a waterfall, until we are saturated with His affection and care. He fills us with His joy, holiness and spiritual fruit as we come to a place of abiding in His presence each moment of the day. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in, through and instead of us (Galatians 2:20). He holds us securely in His everlasting arms. We can depend on Him for all of our needs, even the strength and wisdom to walk in His will moment by moment throughout the day. We walk in confidence in Him as His Spirit directs our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If we are in Christ, we lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). He lives the Christian life through us. Due to His presence, we deny our flesh, obey His Spirit’s direction and study His Word to show our self approved and not ashamed. We realize that nothing is impossible to those who believe in Him (Luke 1:37). Our life depends upon every Word that ensues from His mouth to our ears (Matthew & Luke 4:4). God grafts us into the Vine of Christ, so that we partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). As our thoughts permanently dwell on Him, His living Word transforms our life into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

Prayer:

Father God, even in our times of remorse and despair, You remind us that we are Your beloved children. You breathe hope, peace and joy into our soul regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11). You accomplish Your wondrous work in us and for us, as You work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). We rejoice in Your divinity within us and we thank You for Your presence forevermore (1 Peter 1:4).

Thought for the Day:

We can thoroughly depend upon Christ to fulfill His promises to us both now on this earth and also in eternity.

 

Thank you, Matt Milligan for the use of your photo.
http://www.mattmilliganphotography.com/

Unity in the Spirit

Read: Matt 5:21-44

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” - Ephesians 4:3

Rather than to live as the worldly culture arounds us encourages us to do, God calls us to live holy lives. He is holy and expects holiness from His Bride (Psalm 51:2). We are neither to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-2), nor to our former carnal lusts and desires. True freedom comes to us as we first submit to God’s will for our life, and then as we consider one another’s needs and meet them (Hebrews 10:24; Philippians 2:3).

Relationships often end because misunderstanding causes a parting of the ways. Conventional wisdom says the mature, sensible, persuasive one is expected to bring the walls of division down. Often, however, it is the offended party that must tear the walls down from inside their soul first, and then deal with the barriers between them and the one who offended them.

Another problem arises when we raise walls between God and our self. He reaches out to touch us with His gentle love, but we resist and run from His advances. We do not see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with us. We act as if He means nothing to us or that He intends to harm us. We cannot see that his kindness is intended to turn us from our sins and to restore our relatioship with Him (Romans 2:4). Jesus broke down the walls of partition between God and mankind (Ephesians 2:14), giving us an example to follow.

Little do we realize the dynamic power resident in our living Lord (Colossians 2:9). The Old Testament is full of incidences where He proved His righteous power to mankind. Yet, He is also a gentle lover, who woos us with a still, small voice rather than a raging storm, a rumbling earthquake or a fiery tempest (1 Kings 19:11-12). He gave us the example of the prodigal son’s father who waited daily in anticipation of His son, and then ran to meet him when he returned home (Luke 15:20). Our Father God is also waiting for us with open arms.

It would be so idyllic if everyone could dwell together in unity, especially those who live in the household of God (Psalm 133:1). How peaceful life would be, if everyone would be of like mind, and there would be no division or arguments. However, a perfect joining in the same mind and in the same judgment can only come through surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and being led by His Spirit moment by moment throughout our life (1 Corinthians 1:10).

The Unity of the Body of Christ is created through our union with Christ living in us (2 Corinthians 1:21). This unity in the Spirit stands out in contrast to the attitude of independence and individuality so prevalent in our culture today. The Spirit brings each individual Christian into the unity of the Spirit and into one Body of Christ. We have fellowship in His Spirit and affection and compassion for one another, having the same mind and maintaining the same love for God and each other, united in spirit and intent on furthering His Kingdom on the earth (Philippians 2:1-2).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, it is truly pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1). Help us to live in like-mindedness toward one another according to the mind of Christ and to dwell with one mind and one mouth glorifying You. Show us when we build walls of sin that distance us from Your presence and from one another. Help us to break down these walls of division and to dwell in Your courts forevermore.

Thought for the Day:

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Ephesians 4: 3-6

Fellowshipping with Our Father

Read: John 14:16-21

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” - 2 Corinthians 6:16

As my sister-in-Christ walked on the beach, she fairly fainted with excitement over her upcoming trip to her best friend’s home. In the next moment, the Lord stated a clear fact to her. “You are more excited to spend time with her than you are to spend time with Me.” This thought reminded her of Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Amazingly, the God and King of the universe desires companionship with His children. So much so, that He sent His Son to die for us, and His Spirit to dwell within us.

How much time do we spend fellowshipping with Our Father? How much attention do we give to the monumental fact that the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of us? Our busy schedules usually prevent this from happening.

Therefore, now is the moment to prioritize our time and to exclude all of our useless endeavors (1 John 1:6). Then, whatever crowds out or competes with our affections for Him can be demoted to its proper place in our life.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we desire to walk in Your presence each moment of our day and to live our lives as a praise to You. Fill us with your peace, joy and contentment. Draw us ever closer to Your heart.

Thought for the Day:

Blessings are not earned, but awarded.