HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL MOTHERS EVERYWHERE!
GOD IS LOVE - IN HIS VERY NATURE, ALL I KNOW OF GOD I HAVE LEARNED FROM THE BIBLE - AND THOSE WHO TAUGHT ME GOT WHAT THEY TAUGHT FROM THE BIBLE. IN ALL MY PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS I SEE GOD, BUT IT IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE I SEE, AND I FEEL GOD TO BE NEAR ME.
GOD AND LOVE ARE SYNONYMOUS. LOVE IS NOT AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD, IT IS GOD; WHATEVER GOD IS, LOVE IS. IF YOUR CONCEPTION OF LOVE DOES NOT AGREE WITH JUSTICE, JUDGEMENT, PURITY, AND HOLINESS, THEN YOUR IDEA OF LOVE IS WRONG.
"GOD IS PATIENT, GOD IS KIND. GOD DOES NOT ENVY, GOD DOES NOT BOAST, GOD IS NOT PROUD. GOD IS NOT RUDE, GOD IS NOT SELF - SEEKING, GOD IS NOT EASLY ANGERED, GOD KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. GOD DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. GOD ALWAYS PROTECTS, GOD ALWAYS TRUSTS, GOD ALWAYS HOPES, GOD ALWAYS PERSEVERES. GOD NEVER FAILS. (1Cor.13:4-8a)
BUT, OH, THE BEAUTY OF THE ABRAHAM - LIKE FAITH THAT DARES TO PLACE THE CENTER OF ITS LIFE, CONFIDENCE, ACTION, AND HOPE IN AN UNSEEN AND APPARENTLY UNKNOWN GOD. SUCH FAITH SAYS, "GOD IS LOVE". SUCH FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
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. THIS IS HOW GOD SHOWED HIS LOVE AMONG US; GOD SENT HIS ONE AND ONLY SON INTO THE WORLD THAT WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH CHRIST. THIS IS LOVE: NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, BUT THAT GOD LOVED US AND SENT HIS SON AS AN ATONING SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS. DEAR FRIENDS, SINCE GOD SO LOVED US, WE ALSO OUGHT TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD; BUT IF WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER, GOD LIVES IN US AND GOD'S LOVE IS MADE COMPLETE IN US.
WE KNOW THAT WE LIVE IN GOD AND GOD IN US, BECAUSE GOD HAS GIVEN US OF HIS SPIRIT. AND WE HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFY THAT THE FATHER HAS SENT HIS SON TO BE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. IF ANYONE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, GOD LIVES IN HIM AND HE IN GOD. 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. IN THIS WAY LOVE IS MADE COMPLETE AMONG US SO THAT WE WILL HAVE CONFIDENCE ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD WE ARE LIKE GOD. THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE. BUT PERFECT LOVES DRIVES OUT FEAR, BECAUSE FEAR HAS TO DO WITH PUNISHMENT. THE ONE WHO FEARS IS NOT MADE PERFECT IN LOVE.
WE LOVE BECAUSE GOD FIRST LOVED US. IF ANYONE SAYS, "I LOVE GOD," YET HATES HIS BROTHER, HE IS A LIAR. FOR ANYONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE HIS BROTHER, WHOM HE HAS SEEN, CANNOT LOVE GOD, WHOM HE HAS NOT SEEN. AND GOD HAS GIVEN US THIS COMMAND: WHOEVER LOVES GOD MUST ALSO LOVE HIS BROTHER. (1John 4:7-21)
THE LOVE OF GOD IS NOT REVEALED BY INTELLECTUAL DISCERNMENT;
IT IS A SPIRITUAL REVELATION. IF I WISH TO KEEP IN THE SPIRITUAL SPHERE OF THE LOVE OF GOD, I MUST USE THE GREAT INSTRUMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL REALM, WHICH IS FAITH. DO NOT LIVE AT A DISTANCE FROM GOD; LIVE NEAR HIM, DELIGHTING YOURSELF IN GOD. REMOVE ALL BARRIERS OF SELFISHNESS AND FEAR, AND PLUNGE INTO THE FATHOMLESS LOVE OF GOD.
CHRIST IS THE PATTERN FOR MY LIFE, AND GOD IS TRANSFORMING ME TO THE PATTERN. SO I SAY THANKS BE TO GOD. AMEN
THANK YOU TO OSWALD CHAMBERS FOR THE SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS I RECIEVED FROM " GOD IS LOVE, REFLECTIONS ON THE CHARACTER OF GOD." BY FAITH HE STILL SPEAKS, EVEN THOUGH HE IS DEAD." (1874 - 1917)
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