Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Today's world is filled with many different definitions for the word love. We love pizza, we love our cars, we love our parents and we love God. But we don't or shouldn't love all these things on the same level. I love my parents more then I love pizza, and i love God more then... well I should love God more then anything else. Why is it that we use the word "love" so loosely? Maybe it's because we don't understand the real meaning of love and all that it encompasses. There are many different elements in these verses in 1 Corinthians 13. Throughout the next couple week, we will be looking at all the different components in these verses one by one.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
No Greater Love
John 15: 12&13
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
"No greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." We see this scenario played out many times in the movies and on popular television shows. You've seen it, someone is in danger and there friend jumps in and saves them by putting themselves in the way of danger, often killing themselves (laying down one's life) to save there friends. We think that this is the greatest gift and act of love that anyone could do for us and it is. Jesus did the same thing for us when he died on the cross for our sins. Without him dying we would not be able to have a personal relationship with him. Jesus called us his friends. He showed us the greatest act of love by dying for us. But if we are friends with Jesus shouldn't we be willing to do the same thing? I'm not saying we need to kill ourselves for the cause of Christianity, but take Stephen for example. Stephen was willing to be stoned to death by people that wanted him to stop preaching.
Why would he be willing to do this? Because he loved God and knew how important it was to share the gospel with people no matter what the outcome would be. Stephen understood the power in the great commission (Matthew 28:29) and was not willing to stop for anything. So I leave you with a scenario. Your at church listening to the pastors message, when a man walks in with a gun. He claims he will shoot anybody that says they are a Christian, but will let those that deny God walk out. He has stayed true to his word, three have denied God and walked out, two lie dead. He walks up to you and sticks the gun to your head. What is your answer?
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
"No greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." We see this scenario played out many times in the movies and on popular television shows. You've seen it, someone is in danger and there friend jumps in and saves them by putting themselves in the way of danger, often killing themselves (laying down one's life) to save there friends. We think that this is the greatest gift and act of love that anyone could do for us and it is. Jesus did the same thing for us when he died on the cross for our sins. Without him dying we would not be able to have a personal relationship with him. Jesus called us his friends. He showed us the greatest act of love by dying for us. But if we are friends with Jesus shouldn't we be willing to do the same thing? I'm not saying we need to kill ourselves for the cause of Christianity, but take Stephen for example. Stephen was willing to be stoned to death by people that wanted him to stop preaching.
Why would he be willing to do this? Because he loved God and knew how important it was to share the gospel with people no matter what the outcome would be. Stephen understood the power in the great commission (Matthew 28:29) and was not willing to stop for anything. So I leave you with a scenario. Your at church listening to the pastors message, when a man walks in with a gun. He claims he will shoot anybody that says they are a Christian, but will let those that deny God walk out. He has stayed true to his word, three have denied God and walked out, two lie dead. He walks up to you and sticks the gun to your head. What is your answer?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Loving God, Loving Others
Matthew 22:37-40
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all you soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
It's apparent that from reading this verses that love is the greatest command in the whole Bible. We are first to love God and then love our neighbors (everyone else). The rest of the Bible is based on these two commands. Without loving God we won't have the genuine love that we are supposed to have for other people. Why? Because without seeing how much God loved use, when he sent his perfect son to earth to die for our sins, we will never fully love people who need Jesus Christ in their lives. One way that we can learn to love God more is to remember what he did on the cross for us (read Matthew 27 &28). When we remember what God did for us we will want to tell others about the love he showed for us. In return showing others the love we have for them.
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all you soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
It's apparent that from reading this verses that love is the greatest command in the whole Bible. We are first to love God and then love our neighbors (everyone else). The rest of the Bible is based on these two commands. Without loving God we won't have the genuine love that we are supposed to have for other people. Why? Because without seeing how much God loved use, when he sent his perfect son to earth to die for our sins, we will never fully love people who need Jesus Christ in their lives. One way that we can learn to love God more is to remember what he did on the cross for us (read Matthew 27 &28). When we remember what God did for us we will want to tell others about the love he showed for us. In return showing others the love we have for them.
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