Posts Tagged ‘Valentines Day’
No Greater Love Than The Love Of Jesus
Romans 5:8 KJV
“But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
February is the month of Valentines Day, celebrating romance and love for that special person in our life. On this day we try our best to show just how much we love because we never reveal a love like this on any other day of the year. So many of us work out something special on Valentine’s Day out of guilt for not demonstrating how much we love during rest of the year.
We may believe that we have great love for others but we do not, for there is no greater love than the love of Jesus. Here is why.
Our love is a tainted love, one given from a sin nature based on conditional love. It is not a sacrificial love expecting nothing in return. However, the love of Christ is a sacrificial love given to people who do not deserve to be loved by God.
Because we are as stated in Romans 3:10-12 KJV
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one.”
None of us are good enough to deserve to be loved by Jesus but, here is what Jesus has done for us to save us out of His love:
Romans 5:9-10 KJV
“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 2:5 KJV
“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
Colossians 2:13-14 KJV
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; [14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
In short, what Jesus did was to save people from facing the wrath of God, for being sinful people living in disobedience to God, providing forgiveness for “ALL” of our sins – past, present and future sins – by being obedient for us. He gave us a new spiritual life and guaranteed our entrance into heaven, not based on what we have done nor by our will, but by the will and grace of God because of what Jesus has done.
As we read in that famous verse:
John 3:16 KJV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
In other words, they who believe in Jesus will never perish because of our sins and is given eternal life in heaven. So how do we show we believe in Jesus? Read the following scripture verse:
Romans 10:9 KJV
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
You, too, can know the love of Jesus by confessing Him to being Lord over you and believing that God raised Him from the dead. Only then will you be able to say that there is “No Greater Love Than The Love Of Jesus.”
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February – The Month of Love
February has the biggest love holiday of the year. Of course, it is Valentine’s Day, the day of love.
What, however, does love do? What does love not do? Good questions and we can find the best answer lies in the bible. If you look at these verses from 1st Corinthians 13 you will see the answers that you seek.
1Co 13:4 Love is patient, and is kind; love is not jealous; love does not boast, does not brag,
1Co 13:5 Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
In short, the person whom you love should come first in your life. You should put their needs and desires before your own. You should look out for their interest and give of yourself to please them. If you cannot do this with the one whom you say that you love then you really are not in love with them. You may like them, and you may like them a lot but, if you cannot put them first in your life, no matter how they are with you, then you honestly do not love them.
The thing is that with sin in your life you always want for yourself first. Everyone must come after, and should do as you want and put your needs first.
The only way that you can love as God intends for us to love is to come to God on His terms and love Him with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your strength and with all of your mind. If you cannot do this, you will never be able to love as we have seen in the above verses that we should.
To love, as God intends, is to sacrifice yourself in order to please another. Jesus sacrificed Himself to save others, from facing the wrath of God, because of His love for them. He put their needs first and, by His love for them, provided forgiveness for their sins.
True love is to love as Jesus did. If you cannot do so, then how can you say you love someone if you will not put them first? It is said that love is blind. You may be so blind that what you think is love may not be love at all. It may just be infatuation.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things, but only when that love is coupled with the love of God that comes to those who loves Jesus. Would you not like to love as Jesus loves? You can.
If you will repent of your sinfulness in offending a Holy God, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will find that you have been forgiven and are being loved by God as His own. With that kind of love, flowing from Him to you, you will find that you will soon be able to love others as God loves you.
Only then will you be able to love as God intends and that will fill you in return with a love that you have never before felt in this lifetime. It is a love that is everlasting, comforting and sacrificial, because it is love that God, in Christ Jesus, first gave to you. You see, we can only love God and love others as God intended because it is a love that He first gave to us. God is love.
Make this a wonderful Valentine’s day by loving as only God can love and truly put that loved one first in your life. Love them with God’s love.
Who Is Your Valentine?
Ah, love. Valentine’s Day is a time for showing how much you love someone and for showing gratitude for the love that someone has towards you. Have you ever thought how someone’s love towards you affects how you love that person in return?
When you truly love another and you know how much they love you in return does it not give you a wonderful sense of gratitude for that person making it so easy to love them by the way they show their love for you?
In a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians – the true born again disciples of Jesus – at Rome he writes the following:
Romans 5: 9 ….. But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Think of that. Jesus died for us while we were still in our sinful state so that He could bring us into the family of God. How great of a love that must be. In fact, in the Gospel of John 15: 13, Jesus tells us this:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
What love it is that Jesus must have for His people that He would lay down His life for us so that we would have life eternal. Jesus has done for us what we could not do for ourselves and has provided forgiveness for our sins, and because of what He has done for us, by His great love for us, we now have assurance of eternal life in Heaven. We do not have to fear facing God’s wrath or of being cast into the lake of fire to suffer eternal punishment for our sins.
There is no greater love than this.
So, this Valentine’s Day, if you are a true disciple of Jesus, why not share the love of Jesus to that special person here on earth in a way that would honor the love of Christ for us. Not by laying down our life for them, but by laying down our own selfishness and love them with a love that expects nothing in return.
As Jesus loves us so should we love others. For loving others with an unconditional love is showing the love of Jesus. What greater love is there than by loving others as Jesus loves us?
By doing so, you just might discover just how much Jesus really does love you.
Marriage – A Gift From God
Ah, February! The month of Valentines and the month of love. What better way of celebrating this wonderful emotion than by looking at the moment when God planted the seeds of love in mankind.
During creation, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1: 27, 28
In Genesis 1 God gives us an overview of His making of the male and female persons to populate the Earth and that they were to have dominion over it. Then in Genesis 2 we are told “how” God made them.
Genesis 2: 7, 18, 21
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
When God created man he was not meant to be alone. He needed more. He needed someone to stand by his side to share life and to enjoy each other in ways that were only meant for a man and a woman. Their differences were such that coming together was natural and pleasurable both physically and emotionally. Knowing that a relationship of this nature could only be truly realized as a lifelong union, God created and ordained a covenant for them so that only through this ceremony could the two of them find true happiness and love.
In doing so God created marriage and we read what God’s purpose was for this union in Genesis 2: 24, 25:,
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
The nature and makeup of a man and a woman is such that they can come together in a natural union, not only for procreation, but for the pleasure and enjoyment, both physically and emotionally, that only these two can experience. A man and a woman’s body were designed for this coming together in a natural and normal way.
Even Jesus knew this – as he is God in the flesh – and in Matthew 19: 4 we read where He says this:
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Even in Mark 10:6-8 Jesus tells us this:
6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Jesus knew that the true physical and emotional well-being of a man and a women could only be found in each other. Jesus not only affirmed this, but He also confirmed that God created a man and a woman to come together in one flesh, to bring life into the world and to enjoy each other in the confines of a marriage agreement between the two of them.
By God’s standards, a marriage is to be between a man and a woman. No matter what man says or does it can never rise to the level of being accepted by God, nor can God bless what He has not ordained should be. To do otherwise is just to make a mock-marriage and indulge in mock-sexuality.
I understand that you may say that God never meant for marriage to be this way. You may even say that you do not believe in God and will only do what “you” will.
You may even believe that God will bless some other union as long as “love” is involved.
If “love” is your answer, if “love” is the action upon which you make your decision, remember these sayings of Jesus. From John 14: 15, 21, 23. 24
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
You want to make “love” your guiding means of obedience? Jesus said:
“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Who’s “love” will guide you, man’s or God’s (Jesus)? God knows what is best for us, and it is His will and command for marriage to be between a man and a woman. Anything else will never receive the blessing, understanding or love of God. The question you should answer is – who do you love more?
Yes, marriage is a gift from God, and God created the ones who will benefit from it. He created them male and female and blessed their union.
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