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DIR Return to: BIBLE STUDY - From The Late Lori Bolinger
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#Post#: 2146--------------------------------------------------
How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 12, 2018, 9:28 am
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The first study I did on God's Love was a study into How God
expresses His Love towards us. I found like 11 or 12 different
ways God expresses His Love toward us. So I thought we could
talk about those ways. The easiest way for me to start the
conversation is to list the one's I found one at a time with
some passages that go along with what I found. The entire study
is too long for here not to mention that is is no where close to
all that we can glean from God's Love.
So here we go, jumping in...the first way He expresses His Love
towards man is by the very essence of Him being God, "God is
Love"...'
Scripture tells us that God is love. Love is the center,
the core of who God is, His very nature is love. Everything
that radiates from God starts with love. His commands, His law,
His judgment, His redemption, His gifts, all are centered around
the very nature of God, a nature whose purpose is love.
I John 4:7-8 (NIV)Dear friends, let us love one another, for
love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God
is love.
1 John 4:16 (NIV)And so we know and rely on the love God has for
us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in
him.
Love is said to sum up all the law and the prophets. It is
God's command to us His people. Love is the key to
understanding God and what He wills for us His people.
Everything God has ever done, and all that He is doing,
everything He will do, is rooted in Love. When we begin to
understand love we begin to understand God and when we begin to
understand God we begin to understand Love.
Matthew 7:12 (NIV)So in everything, do to others what you would
have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the
second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Galatians 5:14 (NIV) The entire law is summed up in a single
command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Love is in fact so important that it not only sums up the
law and prophets, but it fulfills the law as well. A love that
reveals God's heart and mind. A law whose intent and purpose is
our protection. A law that is not burdensome to us because we
understand and accept that the laws intent is love. Our very
victory over the world is found in the midst of this love. When
new things come into our world, it is love that tells us what is
and is not sin. Understanding love is the very basic, beginning
of our spiritual journey.
I John 5:3-4 (NIV) In fact, this is love for God: to keep his
commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone
born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has
overcome the world, even our faith.
Romans 13:8-10 (NIV) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others
has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit
adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You
shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are
summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the
fulfillment of the law.
Love then becomes a vital part of our understanding in this
relationship journey we have chosen to embark on with the living
God. But as many people have pointed out, defining love is much
harder than it might appear. The definition of the worldly view
of love might be something like, “a strong like for something or
someone”. Websters defines love as...a (1) : strong affection
for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2) :
attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness
felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence,
or common interests b : an assurance of affection 2: warm
attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion Yet God's love is a
fierce, deep, powerful, abiding love which takes us far beyond
a simple strong attachment. It is a love so huge that (John 21:5
NIV) “If every one of them were written down, I suppose that
even the whole world would not have room for the books that
would be written.”
As we study the biblical definition of love we discover some
very interesting things that should compel us and change us and
increase our understanding of what real love is. This study is
about the pictures of love that scripture provides for us.
Snapshots so to speak of a God who loves His people with a
passion, with an unconditional love and wants them to share that
love with the world. The love we speak of, is the love of a God
who wants us to understand what love is and why it is the
greatest of all the gifts He bestows upon us. But before we
start our voyage into these pictures of love, let's take a few
moments to define Biblical love.
Biblical love is putting another above self in an act of
humility, creating a covenant whose purpose is to restore.
Before you panic over this definition, let's take it apart and
look at some of the key words, then we will put it back together
for an even clearer understanding of what this amazing love of
our Lord really is.
#Post#: 2162--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 13, 2018, 8:34 am
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I think so many times we forget what our salvation cost God the
Father.
I wasn't going to share this story be maybe I should....when our
son died, his favorite song was "How Many Kings" by downhere.
(Worth listening to if you don't know the song) Every time I
hear the song, I am reminded that God would never ask us for
more than He has already given that we might live. Not even a
beloved child is more than He has already given.
We often talk about Jesus sacrifice and suffering but we seldom
think about what God the Father suffered as He watched His son
suffer and die for our sins.
#Post#: 2164--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: patrick jane Date: November 13, 2018, 10:35 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Jeremiah 31:3 - The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying],
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.
Romans 5:8-10 - 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life.
Ephesians 3 King James Version (KJV)
3 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you
Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which
is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as
I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men,
as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body,
and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ
Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the
faith of him.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for
you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man;
[size=14pt]17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;
that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in
us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen.[/size]
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
#Post#: 2165--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 13, 2018, 10:37 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Patrick, Ephesians 3:3 is one that I love that we often
overlook. He Loved us with revelation...revelation as to who
Christ is, why we need Him, how that happens, etc.
Great post, thanks
#Post#: 2169--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 14, 2018, 8:35 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Love is what gives us real value. Somehow love defines who we
are in this world. We may desire all kinds of things, shoot for
the stars so to speak, but in the end, what we really want, what
we are really looking for is love, for love is what gives us
value. Whether it's a spouse, children, friends, the world,
what we are looking for deep down in the depths of our being is
unconditional love.
Proverbs 19:21-22 (NIV) Listen to advice and accept discipline,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the
plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that
prevails.
Like a moth to a light, love calls to us, drawing us to
itself. The depths of our inner most being cry out for love.
When we are alone and we see someone with love, we fight the
urges of jealousy. We are beings created to love and to be
loved. For us, that one whose desire for us is passionate and
pure and uncompromising, is God. From the moment God first
conceived you in His heart, you were loved with an unfailing,
unconditional love. It is a deep abiding love that cannot
simply disappear. When you are with Him, you take His breath
away, you are the apple of His eye. He is always seeking to
have a deeper fellowship with you.
Psalms 17:8-9 (NIV) Show me the wonders of your great love, you
who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the
apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the
wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who
surround me.
Deuteronomy 32:10 (NIV) In a desert land he found him, in a
barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple
of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers
over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries
them aloft.
The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
Psalms 36:7 (NIV) How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Not only does God love you, but His desire, His every purpose,
His every act is to woo you into loving Him in return. His very
nature is love and therefore, His being cries out to love and to
be loved and His choice is you. With a disarming love, He
reaches out to you, and desires for you to reach back to Him.
He calls you and “romances” you, telling you that you are His
hearts desire, you are the one He chooses. You are the one that
will satisfy His longing. You are the chosen one.
Matthew 9:13 (NIV) But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire
mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Romans 8:5 (NIV) Those who live according to the flesh have
their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in
accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires
.
Mark 12:33 (NIV) To love him with all your heart, with all your
understanding and with all your strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings
and sacrifices."
As big as our God is, there is room in His love for all of us
to hide beneath His wings. We come and we are no less because
there are others there, but rather we are greater because of all
who have come. It is together, in unity that we discover that
love is not just for us alone, but for all the world. It is a
love whose arms reach far and wide and seeks to envelop all of
us, for in that unity we find strength, comfort, completeness.
Love completes us, makes us whole, allows us to function the way
we were created to function. In that unity we find treasures of
far greater value than anything we can imagine.
Romans 12:4-5 (NIV) For just as each of us has one body with
many members, and these members do not all have the same
function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each
member belongs to all the others.
I Corinthians 12:12 (NIV) Just as a body, though one, has many
parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with
Christ.
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself
up in love, as each part does its work.
But as one body, we are called into a relationship unlike any
other, for we are the bride of Christ. God romances the Church,
and calls her, He spends time with her simply telling her the
sweet nothings that tell her that no matter what the world says,
no matter how many have gone before, the bridegroom has eyes
only for her. She is His hearts desire, His covenant, His
purpose and without her (the Church) God Himself is not
complete.
Ephesians 5:23-32 (NIV) For the husband is the head of the wife
as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is
the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives
should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the
washing with water through the word, and to present her to
himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way,
husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated
their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as
Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united
to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a
profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
To Christ, our value is beyond words, He folds us close to His
very heart and tells us how much we are loved. But way to often
we miss those loving words, we forget to believe what the world
has taught us since birth. In our world, where it is way to
easy to forget that there is another part of our existence, a
spiritual part, we dismiss the romance, push aside the gestures
of love, and pretend that we are unlovable. We forget to accept
that we are loved beyond words, and hold to the lies of the
world and the enemy that would have us know death rather than
life. You are a bride of great value...
Matthew 6:26 (NIV) Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 10:31 (NIV) So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than
many sparrows.
Luke 12:24 (NIV) Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap,
they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much
more valuable you are than birds!
In fact, the love of God for us His bride is so consuming, so
pure, so complete that He gave His very life that we might live.
He gave of Himself, sacrificed Himself that we might live.
Real love isn't about denying self as much as it is about
sacrificing self. Giving up who we are for the good of another.
It is about putting anther above self even unto death.
Sacrificial love does not even think of self, so there is no
denial to consider, rather in humility, love gives of itself for
the good of another.
Romans 3:24-26 (NIV) and all are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented
Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his
blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his
righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his
righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one
who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Ephesians 1:7 (NIV) In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace
Hebrews 9:15 (NIV) For this reason Christ is the mediator of a
new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised
eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them
free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
The bridegrooms love for you His bride, is so pure and
faultless, that it's very purpose is to present you blameless.
He is more concerned about you and your purity than His own.
With grace and passion, He gives Himself so that you will
forever be without blame. The condemnation for your sinful acts
are washed away, and it is love that restores you unto your
bridegroom, able to wear white. Able to proclaim to the world
that you have waited for the bridegroom, you are without fault,
without blemish, the virgin bride of the bridegroom who gave
Himself for your purity.
I Corinthian 1:8 (NIV) He will also keep you firm to the end, so
that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:27 (NIV) and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy
and blameless.
Romans 8:1 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus
The sacrificial love of the bridegroom for the bride is so
complete that is should compel us to completely trust the
bridegroom with every aspect of our lives. From the things we
agree with to the things we don't. The bridegroom gave Himself
so that we could see that trusting Him is a good thing, an
honorable thing. Love builds our trust as it seeks our good
above all else this life can hold. In sacrifice it earns our
trust. For when loves only purpose is that we might be
protected and loved and held without blame, there is nothing in
that love that can hurt us. In this realization, we learn to
trust that love, we learn to yield ourselves to that love, and
in that love, we learn that we are more than our thoughts could
have ever imagined.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and
lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths
straight.
Proverbs 37:3 (NIV) Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the
land and enjoy safe pasture.
Proverbs 22:19 (NIV) Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the
land and enjoy safe pasture.
Our marriage to the Lamb does not happen in this life, in this
temporal world. And so we can look at this time that we are now
living in as the engagement phase of our relationship with our
Lord. It is the period of time in which we learn to trust God
with all of our being. We are growing closer to Him, in an
effort to become like one. We are His and He is ours and
neither lives only for self. With unity we carry on, in
anticipation of the moment we are wed and our life takes on a
new dimension, a new adventure. Love desires to grow closer to
one another so that we can become as one. This growing begins
with a complete honesty, a pouring out of ourselves, so that
there is nothing hidden from our bridegroom.
Matthew 10:26-27 (NIV) “So do not be afraid of them, for there
is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that
will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in
the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the
roofs
Matthew 13:35 (NIV) So was fulfilled what was spoken through the
prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things
hidden since the creation of the world.”
Mark 4:22 (NIV) For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed,
and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the
open.
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account.
As we learn to both trust one another and communicate with one
another we discover that by some strange miracle, we have
confidence in one another. We begin to learn that God will
always be there for us and we begin to see with different eyes.
No longer is this about me and Him, but suddenly it is about us
and who we are becoming to each other. We find that love
compels us to trust in someone other than ourselves, to give
into the wonders of a relationship unlike any other. With
confidence we run the race that is before us and it is with this
confidence that we learn and grow in each others love.
II Corinthian 3:4-5 (NIV) Such confidence we have through Christ
before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim
anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV) In him and through faith in him we may
approach God with freedom and confidence.
Hebrews 3:6 (NIV) But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s
house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our
confidence and the hope in which we glory.
I John 4:16-19 (NIV) And so we know and rely on the love God has
for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God
in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we
will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we
are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love
drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one
who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first
loved us.
But love is sometimes a process of growing and learning and
maturing in relationship. It's about learning to become as one.
We struggle and strive to learn to become as one, in unity
living as though we are of the same mind and heart. We allow
our relationship be flourish into a beautiful bloom in which all
the different parts work together in harmony, creating in the
world a beautiful song that cannot be denied as anything short
of heavenly. We purpose to see our love for one another mature
into a concert of wonders beyond our own understanding, an
orchestration of the supernatural becoming a part of the
physical and the physical becoming as one with the supernatural.
And it is here in the concert of oneness, that the world has an
opportunity to see evidence of a living God.
I Corinthian 13b-15a (NIV) The body, however, is not meant for
sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will
raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of
Christ himself?
Galatians 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.
Galatians 3:28 (NIV) There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither
slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.
With confidence and trust, with perseverance and patience, we
begin to learn that not only has God chosen us to be His bride,
but He loves us with a passion so great that it seeks to show
itself. A love so eternal that it allows us to pull away and
cries for us to return. A love so complete that it demands a
oneness. A love to huge, that it saw us across the vastness of
eternity and from there, it knew that we were the one's the only
one's that could complete the circle of love that is the
center, the core of both our existences.
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
#Post#: 2171--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 14, 2018, 9:03 am
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This expression of God's Love for man has a great many
beneficial things to tell us about our marriage relationships
and our sexual purity...
#Post#: 2204--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 15, 2018, 9:57 am
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Today we look at another one that is difficult for many people
especially those that had a very difficult and/or abusive
father. Yet God says that He Loves us as a Father Loves his
child.
Scripture often tells us that God's love is comparable to the
love of a father. We believers are adopted as sons and
daughters of the most high King. We are His children and He is
our Father. We are loved with a Father's love that is far
beyond what we can know or understand from our own fathers. And
yet, as we grow and mature in this life, our own understanding
of a father's love takes on a new dimension when we ourselves
have children. It is with this new role we begin to see even
our own fathers with a different vision, a different
understanding of what a Father's love really is all about. In
looking at a Father's love, we can draw from our experiences as
children as well as parents and in doing so, let us also
remember that we are imperfect, whereas God's Father love is a
perfected love. He is not only our hero, but a righteous Father
whose love is without compare.
Matthew 7:11 (NIV) If you, then, though you are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
John 1:12-13 (NIV) Yet to all who did receive him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision
or a husband’s will, but born of God.
There are two primary jobs given to a parent when their child
is born. The first is to teach the child all that is necessary
for him to learn in order to be a success in life. With
determination and confidence a father diligently teaching his
child in the ways of truth. Whether actively, formally teaching
the child, or passively through behaviors and attitudes, the
father teaches. Day in and day out, the father teaches. With
love and passion the father teaches. With patience and wisdom,
the father teaches...
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) Train a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not turn from it.
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) Fathers, do not exasperate your children;
instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the
Lord.
Luke 12:12 (NIV) for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that
time what you should say.”
John 14:26 (NIV) But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will
remind you of everything I have said to you.
But the Father also protects with a fierce love and passion, he
watches over his child, guarding them, protecting even when the
child is unaware. Without thought of his own safety or comfort,
the father steps in when the child is in danger and rights what
could go wrong. He is a watchful pair of eyes that monitors the
events, balancing the discomfort and pains that are fleeting and
teaching moments, with the passionate protection whose purpose
is to be an ever present bubble around the child so that harm
does not ever come their way.
John 17:11-12 (NIV) I will remain in the world no longer, but
they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy
Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you
gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was
with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you
gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction
so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
I Corinthian 13:7 (NIV) It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
II Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV) But the Lord is faithful, and he
will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
Matthew 18:14 (NIV) In the same way your Father in heaven is
not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
The protection of a father's love does not stop the child from
making mistakes, or facing difficulties. In fact, a father
knows that often times it is in adversity, in struggle that the
child learns to be strong, learns to stand alone, learns to be
the man or woman they are intended to become. This realization
on the part of the father, encourages the child to live his/her
life, to have experiences. The loving father allows the child
to have stories of his own to tell, amazing stories of
adventures and victories of his own.
John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.
Matthew 6:25 (NIV) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more
than clothes?
Matthew 25:46 (NIV) “Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
This protection and faithfulness of the father, stirs within
the child, a hope unlike any other. Without waver, the child
knows the father will always come, always be there. The child
learns to hope even when everything seems lost. A hope that
there is always someone to come home to, always someone waiting
and anxious for his return. Always someone who loves no matter
where they go or what they do, the father will always welcome
them with open arms and a warm embrace.
Hebrews 3:6 (NIV) But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s
house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our
confidence and the hope in which we glory.
Hebrews 6:19 (NIV) We have this hope as an anchor for the soul,
firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the
curtain,
Luke 15:11-32- The prodigal son
As fathers, we feel the pains of our children. There is a
connection, a tie that cannot be broken. They are forever our
babies and that means that we hurt when they hurt, we struggle
with them, not apart from them. When they suffer, we feel it in
the depths of our being and live in that deep and abiding pain
that marks our connections and ties to our children. They are
not only a part of our genetic make up, they are a part of who
we are. When they were born or adopted we took on a
responsibility in which we would forever be their parent and
them our child. This connection causes us to rejoice when they
rejoice with a joy that is pure and deep and to hurt when they
hurt like no other relationship we will ever have on this earth.
Romans 8:26 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
John 4:24 (NIV) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship
in the Spirit and in truth.”
Psalms 145:18 (NIV) The LORD is near to all who call on him, to
all who call on him in truth.
For as protective as a father is toward his children, there are
still things that come in and hurt the child. Things that the
father has little or no control over. Whether the father is
trying to prevent a much greater pain down the road, or this
thing is out of his control, fathers sometimes have to stand
back and watch their children suffer. Sometimes, fathers have
to watch their children make mistakes and bad decisions and in
those moments, the father watches, groans, and trusts that the
child will see wisdom and comfort before it is too late. A
father knows that through trials, difficulties, and struggle,
comes a maturity and the building of character necessary for
life.
John 16:33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me
you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Acts 14:22 (NIV) strengthening the disciples and encouraging
them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many
hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
II Corinthian 6:3-10 (NIV) We put no stumbling block in
anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in
great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in
beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless
nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and
kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful
speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in
the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad
report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors;
known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on;
beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing
everything.
A father's heart is warmed when his young son/daughter runs to
greet him after a long day of work. He cherishes the time they
have to play together and be the best of friends. A father
grieves when the child enters their teen and young adult years
and the pulling away time begins. Fathers are totally absorbed
in the innocent and trusting eyes of the child. He feels his
heart pulled ever closer to the amazement of who the child is
and who he/she is not. With wonder, he welcomes the warm
embrace even of a dirty face. He is consumed by the pride he
feels with each success no matter how small. The joy envelops
him as the child sees the world, his world, through eyes that
have not been clouded by the sin and harsh realities of this
world. A father's love responds to the cries of innocence and
trust that mark the very nature of a young child who have never
learned differently.
Matthew 11:25 (NIV) At that time Jesus said, “I praise you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little
children.
Mark 10:14 (NIV) When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said
to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Matthew 18:3 (NIV) And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you
change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.
In perseverance of the lessons and the patience of a father
whose only intent is the good of the child, the father shapes
the child. Encouraging him to follow the footsteps that have
gone before him/her. Showing the way through words and example,
the father's influence is so strong, that the child learns even
when no words are spoken. The young child desires to be just
like his/her father.
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) Follow God’s example, therefore, as
dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
I Corinthian 11:1 (NIV) Follow my example, as I follow the
example of Christ.
I Peter 2:21 (NIV) To this you were called, because Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow
in his steps.
But even though the father loves the child with a passion, with
a protection unlike any other relationship on this earth, the
father also loves the child enough to punish him/her. This
correction is an unfortunate extension of the father's love for
the child and though we all might argue it once in a while, it
is the corrections that speak to the child how very much they
are loved. We need boundaries, we need to know there are limits
in place on our behavior for it is in those moments that we
learn that the father's love is without condition.
Proverbs 3:12 (NIV) because the LORD disciplines those he
loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Hebrews 12:6 (NIV) because the Lord disciplines the one he
loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Revelation 3:19 (NIV) Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline. So be earnest and repent.
Deuteronomy 8:5 (NIV) Know then in your heart that as a man
disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
Part of this discipline however, is to face the consequences of
our own actions. A father's intent is not to stop the child
from growing and maturing, but rather to guide him/her as he
grows and matures. This sometimes involves facing the
consequences of his/her own actions and though the father may be
in agony as he watches from a distance, it is the facing of
these consequences that will one day, allow the child to stand
on his/her own two feet. It is this learning that will someday
create an adult who is not dependent on the father for
everything.
Galatians 6:8 (NIV) Whoever sows to please their flesh, from
the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the
Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
James 1:15 (NIV) Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to
death.
Proverbs 11:18 (NIV) A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but
the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
The father is always ready and willing to welcome the child
home, no matter where the child has been. With an anxiousness,
the father watches and waits and longs for the son/daughter to
return to his waiting and open arms. He longs to know once
again the warm embrace of the little child that is the center of
is very heart, his very reason for continuing on. It is this
father love that knows no limits as he waits and watches and for
the child to return home.
Luke 15 (NIV) Now the tax collectors and sinners were all
gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and
eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he
leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost
sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts
it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends
and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found
my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be
more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coin and loses one. Doesn’t
she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she
finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and
neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my
lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The
younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the
estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long
after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for
a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild
living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe
famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he
went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who
sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave
him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many
of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and
say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like
one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his
father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no
longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to
his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put
a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the
fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the
older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he
heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and
asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he
replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because
he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became
angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded
with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years
I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet
you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my
friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf
for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me,
and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be
glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.’”
But maybe the most important aspect of a father's love is his
willingness to stand in the place of the son/daughter. To is
willing to be the substitution, the one who takes the penalty.
He is willing to give his own life, that the child might live.
Isiah 53:4-6 (NIV) Surely he took up our pain and bore our
suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by
him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all,
like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own
way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Matthew 8:17 (NIV) This was to fulfill what was spoken through
the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our
diseases.”
#Post#: 2236--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 16, 2018, 10:27 am
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God also Loves us like a King
The kings of old had the final authority over all matters in the
kingdom. God's Kingship authority is an authority whose purpose
is not to oppress, but rather it's purpose is to love. It is an
authority over all things in this earth and outside this earth.
The King's authority is over all!
What is God's authority over?
Matthew 9:6 (NIV) But I want you to know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the
paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
Matthew 28:18 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Mark 3:15 (NIV) and to have authority to drive out demons.
Luke 10:19 (NIV) I have given you authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you.
John 5:27 (NIV) And he has given him authority to judge because
he is the Son of Man.
Acts 1:7 (NIV) He said to them: “It is not for you to know the
times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
Who gives the authority? Whose authority is it?
Luke 4:32 (NIV) They were amazed at his teaching, because his
words had authority.
John 7:28-29 (NIV) Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple
courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am
from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is
true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him
and he sent me.”
John 10:18 (NIV) No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of
my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to
take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Romans 13:1 (NIV) Let everyone be subject to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has
established. The authorities that exist have been established by
God.
Colossians 2:10 (NIV) and in Christ you have been brought to
fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Absolute authority demands absolute obedience. That authority
is what stirs us to fear the punishment of disobedience and it
is that authority that compels us to obedience. All under
authority are subject to that same obedience. It is a heart
that yields to that understanding and authority that honors God
and His love.
Matthew 8:28 (NIV) The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of
man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Mark 1:27 (NIV) The people were all so amazed that they asked
each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He
even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”
Romans 6:17 (NIV) But thanks be to God that, though you used to
be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the
pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.
Ephesians 6:6 (NIV) Obey them not only to win their favor when
their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of
God from your heart.
As we begin to experience the authority of one who is above
all, as we allow that authority to infiltrate into our very
beings and lives, we also begin to understand what faith is.
Faith is an understanding of what that authority is and how that
authority functions in our lives. Faith it an unquestioning
acceptance of the authority in our life. It is an allegiance to
the one with the power over death and hell. And it is this
faith that opens our eyes to see what we could not see before.
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for
and assurance about what we do not see.
Matthew 8:5-13 (NIV) When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my
servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said
to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied,
“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just
say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a
man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one,
‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to
my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this,
he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell
you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I
say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and
will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom
will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the
centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”
And his servant was healed at that moment.
With an understanding and acceptance of authority comes a
realization of who we are in that Kingdom. The servant cannot
be greater than the Master. The servant thinks nothing of his
own pleasure but seeks only to serve the King, the one of
authority. With humility, the servant lives a life of servitude
and loyalty and in so doing, gains a place of honor and trust
from the King. With reverence and obedience and praise, the
servant willingly, with great honor accepts his lowly position.
His thoughts become for the honor and glory of the King, and the
King alone.
Revelation 19:5-6 (NIV) Then a voice came from the throne,
saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him,
both great and small!” Then I heard what sounded like a great
multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals
of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty
reigns.
Luke 1:48 (NIV) for he has been mindful of the humble state of
his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
Luke 17:10 (NIV) So you also, when you have done everything you
were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have
only done our duty.’”
Matthew 10:24 (NIV) “The student is not above the teacher, nor
a servant above his master.
Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV) Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants
to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.”
In humility, the servant of the King learns a new boldness.
The servant who understands his place in the Kingdom, also
begins to understand the risk involved as he/she goes before the
throne, totally vulnerable and completely at the mercy of the
one whose authority is final and absolute.
Psalms 111:10 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To
him belongs eternal praise.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach God’s throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need.
Matthew 20:16 (NIV) "So the last will be first, and the first
will be last."
John 5:22-23 (NIV) Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has
entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son
just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father, who sent him.
We become a part of the kingdom. As a part of the kingdom, we
find that we must obey the commands of the king. It is for the
collective good of them entire kingdom that orders and commands
are issued. With authority it is assumed they will be carried
out for the common good of the entire kingdom. With loyalty the
servant seeks the good of the kingdom and trusts the commands of
the King.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.
Matthew 13:38 (NIV) The field is the world, and the good seed
stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people
of the evil one,
Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the
second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
John 15:11-13 (NIV) I have told you this so that my joy may be
in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this:
Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one
than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Our obedience to the kings command is the authority in which we
live. But a strong kingdom always has those whose purpose is to
overtake, to bring down the kingdom and the king. There are
those whose purpose is to destroy the king, the kingdom and the
holy commands that govern the land. The servants of the king
are ever watchful for these enemies and protective of the
vulnerable in that kingdom. Like wolves in sheeps clothing, or
those who refuse to carry out the commands of the king, the
kingdom is vulnerable to attacks.
II Peter 2:1 (NIV) But there were also false prophets among the
people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They
will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the
sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on
themselves.
Matthew 7:15 (NIV) “Watch out for false prophets. They come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Matthew 7:1 (NIV) “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Proverbs 16:18 (NIV) Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall.
A good king always provides the resources we need in order to
complete the task we are commanded to do. Sometimes it feels
like an impossible task, but the King in His wisdom always knows
what we need and when we need it to accomplish all that He asks
of us. The Kingdom is set up for success.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law
Matthew 6:8 (NIV) Do not be like them, for your Father knows
what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more
than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or
reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of
you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you
worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They
do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in
all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how
God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe
you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall
we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
II Corinthian 8:15 (NIV) Our desire is not that others might be
relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be
equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they
need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.
The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered
much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did
not have too little.”
Philippians 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs
according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
II Corinthian 9:8 (NIV) And God is able to bless you
abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that
you need, you will abound in every good work.
King love is about the community being strong, by strengthening
the individual. It's about working together in unity with one
head, one command, one authority over all. Love binds us
together into one. In working together, with the same commands,
the same authority over all, we are drawn into a unity that
binds us together and strengthens us, all working for the same
goal, the same authority.
Ephesians 4:3-4 (NIV) Make every effort to keep the unity of
the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were
called;
Ephesians 4:13 (NIV) until we all reach unity in the faith and
in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining
to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Colossians 3:14 (NIV) And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
John 17:23 (NIV) I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
What a beautiful picture of a King's purpose for His people we
find in Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations
will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you
looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison
and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did
for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you
who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I
was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger
and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not
clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after
me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison,
and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for
one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life.”
King love is community love, it is not about judgment, but
about support King love is about strengthening individuals
through the strengthening of the collective. It's about
creating a safe environment in which each individual knows they
belong, are cared for and strengthened. In King love we no
longer fight alone. In King love, when we fall, there is
someone there to pick us up, help us through, show us the way.
It is this love, this loyalty, this caring for one another that
identifies us as belonging to the Kingdom.
John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.”
Leviticus 19:18 (NIV) “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge
against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as
yourself. I am the LORD.
I Thessalonians 4:9 (NIV) Now about your love for one another
we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been
taught by God to love each other.
#Post#: 2278--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest24 Date: November 17, 2018, 10:52 am
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He also expresses His Love to us through friendship....
To understand friend love, let's first go back to King love.
The King has intimate authority, so much so that even family was
not permitted to go before the King without first being
summoned. To enter the presence of the King without this
summons, is to risk everything, including life.
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you
have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in
my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in
order to fulfill his good purpose.
Deuteronomy 6:13 (NIV) Fear the LORD your God, serve him only
and take your oaths in his name.
Psalms 111:10 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To
him belongs eternal praise.
Proverbs 1:7 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Psalms 2:11 (NIV) Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his
rule with trembling.
So when a King, calls you friend, it is to remove the
authorities that hold you away from him, and in their place,
openly invite you into his presence whenever you wish to come.
A friend is someone who has free access. Is free to come and go
as that friend pleases. It is someone who enjoys each others
presences but does not need to be summoned first.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach God’s throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need.
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV) In him and through faith in him we may
approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV) Pray also for me, that whenever I
speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make
known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in
chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
II Corinthian 7:15 (NIV) And his affection for you is all the
greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving
him with fear and trembling.
A friend is not only openly welcome to come into the presences
unannounced, but a friend risks his very life to rescue his
friend. There is a kinship, a bond between friends that
sometimes is stronger than the bond of a brother. It is a
relationship in which sacrifice is not to great. It is a love
that knows no bounds, does not question loyalty, but rather
gives without reservation. Jesus sacrificed His life with this
kind of love a love that is welcoming and inviting, even unto
death.
John 15:13 (NIV) Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends.
I John 3:16 (NIV) This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our
lives for our brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:39 (NIV) neither height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 (NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
With an unquestioning loyalty, the friend is ever faithful,
always diligent. The friend is not swayed by the rumors or
reports of others for the friend has confidence in his
understanding of the heart and character of his companion.
I Chronicles 29:18 (NIV) LORD, the God of our fathers Abraham,
Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts
of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
Psalms 12:1-3 (NIV) Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone
lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor
deception in their hearts. May the LORD silence all flattering
lips and every boastful tongue—
Psalms 25:10 (NIV) All the ways of the LORD are loving and
faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV) God is faithful, who has called you
into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Unlike the relationship of a brother, a friend is not a friend
by force, but by choice. There is a connection, a bond that
extends blood. It is a love of acceptance, belonging. There is
never a question of whether or not one is invited or accepted
for the door is always open and the invitation always given.
With loyalty the friend is a forever companion whose acceptance
is without question.
Proverbs 18:24 (NIV) One who has unreliable friends soon comes
to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 17:17 (NIV) A friend loves at all times, and a brother
is born for a time of adversity.
With unquestioning loyalty and love, friends share with one
another the things hidden in the heart. Things that no one else
can know. With confidence and trust the friend opens up and
allows himself to be exposed for all that secrets that he holds
within. A friend trusts his friend to hold confidences and
rightly handle information that is entrusted to him. A friend
knows us intimately and loves us anyway.
John 15:14-15 (NIV) You are my friends if you do what I
command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does
not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you.
Proverbs 17:17 (NIV) A friend loves at all times, and a brother
is born for a time of adversity.
Psalm 25:14 (NIV) The secret of the LORD is for those who fear
Him, And He will make them know His covenant.
Job 29:4 (NIV) Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when
God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
Proverbs 3:32 (NIV) For the LORD detests the perverse but takes
the upright into his confidence.
The love a friend restores to us a value beyond words, a value
of belonging and kinship and confidence even without any logical
reason. Our friends are just our friends, there is really no
reason that we can put our finger on, they just have a value
beyond what we can calculate.
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or
vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the
interests of the others.
Romans 12:10 (NIV) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV) For physical training is of some value, but
godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the
present life and the life to come.
Hebrews 4:2 (NIV) For we also have had the good news proclaimed
to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no
value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who
obeyed.
With a oneness, a unity, friends share life with one another.
They share families, friends, dreams, troubles, joys and pains.
What affects one, affects the other, they grow together and
learn from one another. Friends unite their lives together.
I Corinthian 6:17 (NIV) But whoever is united with the Lord is
one with him in spirit.
Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV) Therefore if you have any encouragement
from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if
any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and
compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Colossians 2:2 (NIV) My goal is that they may be encouraged in
heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches
of complete understanding, in order that they may know the
mystery of God, namely, Christ,
As our friendship grows and matures we begin to see things
through the eyes of our friend. We learn what pleases the other
person, what he finds funny, what angers him. With time,
contact, and unconditional love we begin to see things with not
only our eyes but the eyes of another.
James 1:23-25 (NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the
word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at
his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away
and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues
in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they
will be blessed in what they do.
I Corinthian 13:12 (NIV) For now we see only a reflection as in
a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Job 19:26-27 (NIV) And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in
my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own
eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
II Corinthian 3:18 (NIV) And we all, who with unveiled faces
contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who
is the Spirit.
II Corinthian 5:7 (NIV) For we live by faith, not by sight.
As friends, we hold a place of honor. No longer are we
servants, waiting to be summoned, but we now are given the
confidence of the King. Our commitment is to our friend and our
friend commits to us. With unity of purpose we become lifted up
in stature and given the seat of honor for all to see.
Psalm 8:5 (NIV) You have made them a little lower than the
angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
Psalm 62:7 (NIV) My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he
is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Psalm 84:11 (NIV) For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the
LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Through commitment, obedience and servitude, the servant of the
King demonstrates his loyalty and thus evidences his worthiness
to become a true friend, a coveted friend. It is the repeated
demonstration of service that allows the King confidence to
remove all the walls that once held the two apart and in their
place, a love unto death.
1 Peter 4:19 (NIV) So then, those who suffer according to God’s
will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and
continue to do good.
1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV) But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the
LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better
than the fat of rams.
Matthew 4:10 (NIV) Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For
it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
”
With a listening ear, the friend considers all that he is told.
Attentive and respectful and with great care he listens and
accepts what his friend reveals. As if the information were of
great value it is protected and guarded and never used against
the one speaking.
Matthew 17:5 (NIV) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
James 1:19 (NIV) My dear brothers and sisters, take note of
this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow
to become angry,
Psalms 46:10 (NIV) He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
#Post#: 2323--------------------------------------------------
Re: How God expresses His Love towards us....
By: guest33 Date: November 18, 2018, 5:06 pm
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[quote author=Lori Bolinger link=topic=230.msg2162#msg2162
date=1542119690]
I think so many times we forget what our salvation cost God the
Father.
I wasn't going to share this story be maybe I should....when our
son died, his favorite song was "How Many Kings" by downhere.
(Worth listening to if you don't know the song) Every time I
hear the song, I am reminded that God would never ask us for
more than He has already given that we might live. Not even a
beloved child is more than He has already given.
We often talk about Jesus sacrifice and suffering but we seldom
think about what God the Father suffered as He watched His son
suffer and die for our sins.
[/quote]
[font=andale mono]Dear Lori,
I couldn't remember how to reply to you without clicking on
Quote. First, I had to click on Reply {in color} up on the top,
then Quote. The posts here are Very long and it will take me a
lot of time to respond, so hang in there. I'm trying. Family
concerns/problems going on.
Yes, it is an in-depth subject about how God must have felt when
He saw His Son die, in such a horrible way, for our sins. I
suppose it is one of the worst ways to die, to be honest. I do
also wonder how God or Jesus managed to endure such torture in
their minds, Spirits, and hearts. I think that most people now
would die in a much Easier death, rather than Crucifixion. This
shows how God would give even His only Son for His Love of us.
Just like He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, and waived it;
so He did so Himself, without waiving it. It is a crushing blow
to all of us, and also to Satan. He cringes at hearing anything
about Christ.
Because of what Jesus and His Father did, it makes His children
be able to withstand what difficult troubles they can, during
the trials that come now, and also hereafter. Oh, the Goodness
that both the Lord God and the Lord Jesus, have for those who
believe in Them. They will NOT desert you, if it is your will.
So don't backslide now, because it's time for the second show.
Don't be too hard on me, nor unwilling to hear what I say, for I
am doing the best that I can. I'll leave it at that. Let your
Strength and Countenance be your weapon until the new times
begin. The Earth shall become white, like a bride adorned for
her husband and Jesus shall rule it for over 1,000 years. It
isn't going to be the End of life on Earth, just a Change, or
First Resurrection. The Meek shall inherit the Earth, remember?
The Earth shall not undergo it's death until a bit later. I'll
explain it better soon, because I have much work yet to do.
Keep It Together As Best That You Can!
[/font]
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