Tag: His perfect love

The Love of Our Beloved

2 Corinthians 5:14
Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

Had Jesus Christ not died for us, we would be spiritually dead and ruined. We would be slaves to our sin and we would have no power to deliver ourselves from the miserable state that we would be in.

But, indeed, Christ did die for us, so that we could all die to sin and self. As we receive Jesus as Our Savior, we are freed from a spiritually dead life. We are freed to live for Our Redeemer. It is through Christ’s love that we are able to live as Our Redeemer lived in the perfect will of the Father.

It is the love of our beloved, Jesus Christ, that shines forth in us when we submit ourselves to be vessels of His perfect love. The love of Jesus in our lives is what allows us to show the world what living for Christ is all about. With Him and through Him, we will do more for the kingdom of God than we could ever even imagine.

Let us be certain in our faith that Jesus lives inside us today. Let us surrender to Him, giving up our old lives in the flesh and claiming our new lives in the spirit. Let us mirror His nature and His character. Let us live in the fullness of His will and plan for our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son who died for our sins. We praise the name of Jesus for accepting Your will and plan for His life all the way to the Cross. We pray, Father, that the world will see the way, the truth and the life of Jesus through us as we leave our old lives behind in exchange for the our new lives in Christ. We ask, Lord, that the fullness of the life of Your Son, Jesus, be perfected in us. May the world know us as His disciples. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

How I Miss Those Early Years

Jeremiah 2:2
Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

First, Our Heavenly Father extended His perfect love, forgiveness and pardoning grace to us through His Son, Jesus. Then, as we accepted Our Savior, we were welcomed into an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son. Their love was implanted in us. We returned that love in a very ardent manner of worship. We constantly built on that relationship by fervently following the ordinances given to us. Even through difficulties and discouragements, we clung passionately to our new life in Christ. Then something happened. Somehow our love and our passion waned. But He remembered how we first loved Him. His love for us never changed.

Any parent who has grown kids has fond memories of how their young children delighted in being in their presence. They also remember how the zeal of the children being with them diminished as the children grew older and formed their network of friends. What parent at some point doesn’t say, “how I miss those early years.”

So it is with Our Heavenly Father. He remembers how hungry we were to know Him when we first received His Son as Our Savior. He feels sorrow when He sees our knowledge of Him increasing while our zeal for Him is becoming stale. He is sad when He sees us spending so much time in the world and so little time with Him. He longs for us to return to the energy and enthusiasm that we showed Him when we were first born again in Christ.

Let us return to the joyous and fervent moments in Christ that we enjoyed when we were first born again. Let us turn those memorable moments into the foundation of our ever increasing intimacy with Our Savior. Let us proclaim our joy so that the world can become a witness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for pouring out Your perfect love to us so that we are able to return that love to You. We rejoice in knowing that Your throne is always open to us and You eagerly wait for us to come to be in Your presence. We pray, Father, that you will fill us with the zeal of young children who run to their earthly parents to express their love and their joy in being in their presence. May the fire of Your Holy Spirit rekindle our devotion and fervency for You. We pray these things in the name of the One who loved us so much that He died for us, Jesus Christ.

Individual and Corporate Increase

1 Thessalonians 3:12
And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word increase means to become or make greater in size, amount, intensity or degree. It can be assumed that Paul was speaking to all these nuances held in the definition of the word increase when He was writing to the Thessalonians.

It is certain that Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to continue to increase in numbers just as all the other early Christian churches were doing. It was his prayer that the Lord would cause them to increase through the abounding love that they would have for one another and for the world around them.

It is just as certain that Paul was also teaching that as the Lord provided for their increase in numbers that He would necessarily provide them with an increase in the intensity and fullness of His love. Thus these early Christians would have the increase in the amount of love that they would need to win the world for Jesus Christ. It would, in fact, be their cup spilling over with His perfect love that would draw others to their church and to Christ Himself.

And it would also be in accordance with all of Paul’s other teachings for him to be praying that the Lord would increase the Thessalonians in one other area. Paul was surely praying that there would be an increase in the degree of holiness, humility, knowledge and spiritual joy that would be poured out upon the Thessalonians in the form of the grace of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their increase as individuals was critical to the growth of the Body of Christ.

And so it is with us. God calls us to serve Him. He calls each of us to pour out His perfect love to the world around us so that the Body of Christ may increase. Subsequent to our obedience, He adds to us and grows us according to His good and perfect will and purpose for our lives. This process of individual and corporate increase is continuous throughout our lifetimes.

Let us abound in love for one another. Let us share our love for Christ so that others may be drawn to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good and perfect purposes that You have for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we will be able to continually serve You, not only on this earth, but also on into eternity. We pray that You will show us where You are calling us to pour out Your perfect love. Father, we ask that we never tire of the service that is at hand. May we always increase in our service to Your kingdom. We pray, Lord, that we may also increase in our holiness as we serve You. We ask all these things in the name of our holy and awesome Savior, Jesus Christ.