Abundant Christian Living - 19
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
Abundant Christian Living
Day 19 | GOD IS LOVE
Abundant Christian Living
Day 19 | GOD IS LOVE
GOD IS LOVE
1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (ESV)
We live in a violent world. Every hour of every day someone, somewhere is doing something bad to someone else. And as Jesus predicted, "there will be wars and rumors of wars … nation will rise against nation…” (Matthew 24).
In today's Scripture, the Apostle John uses the ancient Greek word "agape" when he writes about "love." He is not teaching us to "love one another" to earn God's approval or love, but because God loves us.
He goes on to explain that "love is from God." Consider that John is writing to Jesus-Followers back then (and to us too) who, as part of being "born again," have the Holy Spirit and all the Gifts of the Spirit now inside of them, thus making it possible for them to “love one another”!
Now and then, I have a conversation with someone who did NOT have a happy childhood. The stories vary, but sometimes it makes it harder for them to believe that their "Heavenly Father" loves them. It makes it hard for them to love others.
But God never asks us to do what He does not equip us to do. Thus, we are to “LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”
The statement "God is love" may cause some to wonder. And that is because WE often think of "love" in some TV or movie sense and thus confuse God's agape love for us with the wishy-washy, here today – gone tomorrow "loves" we see in life and on the media.
Never confuse God's agape love with anyone else's. He is perfect, everlasting, and His love caused Him to send Jesus to rescue us.
Prayer: LORD God, thank You for showing us REAL love. Please help me to live these verses. Amen.
1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (ESV)
We live in a violent world. Every hour of every day someone, somewhere is doing something bad to someone else. And as Jesus predicted, "there will be wars and rumors of wars … nation will rise against nation…” (Matthew 24).
In today's Scripture, the Apostle John uses the ancient Greek word "agape" when he writes about "love." He is not teaching us to "love one another" to earn God's approval or love, but because God loves us.
He goes on to explain that "love is from God." Consider that John is writing to Jesus-Followers back then (and to us too) who, as part of being "born again," have the Holy Spirit and all the Gifts of the Spirit now inside of them, thus making it possible for them to “love one another”!
Now and then, I have a conversation with someone who did NOT have a happy childhood. The stories vary, but sometimes it makes it harder for them to believe that their "Heavenly Father" loves them. It makes it hard for them to love others.
But God never asks us to do what He does not equip us to do. Thus, we are to “LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”
The statement "God is love" may cause some to wonder. And that is because WE often think of "love" in some TV or movie sense and thus confuse God's agape love for us with the wishy-washy, here today – gone tomorrow "loves" we see in life and on the media.
Never confuse God's agape love with anyone else's. He is perfect, everlasting, and His love caused Him to send Jesus to rescue us.
Prayer: LORD God, thank You for showing us REAL love. Please help me to live these verses. Amen.
Posted in Abundant Christian Living