Greatest is Love

I asked God to take away my pain. God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, No. Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn’t granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me. God said… Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

God’s Love

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16

When God sent His Son to earth, He opened the door of salvation to whoever would believe. That means anyone can become a child of His and have everlasting life! Isn’t it good that He didn’t just come to save certain kinds of people? Aren’t you glad He doesn’t have a bunch of rules and conditions for salvation?

Before Jesus came, people had to observe many laws in order to be holy enough to go into God’s temple. They were constantly performing sacrifices to pay for their sins just so they could be around the presence of God. Even then, their sins were only covered up. They were still there. But when Jesus came, He was the final sacrifice. His blood doesn’t just cover our sins; it washes them away! Now, instead of going to the temple to be near God, the Bible says we are the temple, and He chooses to live inside of us!

Today, thank God for His mercy and for extending the gift of salvation to whoever believes in Him. If you’ve never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, there’s no better way to start! Choose Him and choose life.

The Greatest is Love

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

In our culture today, so many people are confused about what love is. We love pizza, movies and sports, but we also love our family or spouse. If we look to the Word of God, we see God’s definition of love. First Corinthians 13 tells us that “love is patient and kind. It does not envy, nor boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not seek its own way, is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love believes, hopes and endures. Love never fails.” This is how God responds to us, and this is how we should respond to the people in our lives — with patience, kindness, hope, humility and love. Scripture tells us that God is love, and His character never changes!

Today and every day, know that God loves you with an everlasting love. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is for you and has a good plan for you. Receive His perfect love today and let Him transform you from the inside out. His love is the greatest love and will last throughout all eternity!

A Picture of God

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us” – 1 John 4:12

If you’re like most, you have photos in your home of the people who mean the most to you. You may enjoy showing these photos to others and reliving the special moments captured. But have you ever thought about having a picture of God in your house? It may not be in a frame on the shelf, but today’s scripture tells us that when we love others, we are creating a picture of God. We are showing others what He looks like because God is love.

Understand today that God wants us to know Him, and He wants to reveal Himself to the world through us. He wants us to display His love and share it with others. First Corinthians 13 tells us what love looks like. Take a few minutes each day and let that scripture sink down into your heart.

Remember, you are never more like God than when you are loving others. Love is the greatest thing. Everything else will fade away, but His love is a picture that will last forever!

Love of God

One of my friends recently commented “Those who think that the Taj Mahal is the greatest sign of love have apparently not seen The Cross of Calvary”.

Well I know we are celebrating Christmas season, similarly we have Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Valentine’s Day and of course our birthdays, but we don’t have a day set apart for Jesus. You might think that Christmas is set apart for Jesus, but in most cases that is not true. We might give Him an hour at church, but the rest of day we do what we want to do.

When we celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or someone’s birthday, we usually devote just to him. The Bible says in Matthew 25:40 “and the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” This is how we can make Jesus happy by encouraging, calling and visiting people, sharing them the love of Jesus, the purpose of him coming in our midst and the sacrifice of LOVE at the cross of Calvary.

Jesus has done so much for us and continues daily to do things for us, Can’t we set apart just one day for Him? We may never get it on the calendar but we as his, can set apart a day just for Jesus and then every year keep that day just for Him. How we must hurt Jesus, when we go about our busy schedules and ignore Him most of the day, only fitting Him in when it is convenient for us. One day, we will see Him face to face and I don’t want to see the hurt and sadness in my Saviour’s eyes because I ignored him most of the day.

Lets make this Christmas season meaningful for us as well as the people we know around, people who do not know the LOVE of GOD.