Put Love First

[Julie]

How can a Christian escape the text, “God is love”? But if we use this text we have said it all, for the text is so all-inclusive, so final, that it leaves nothing to be said. It is with trembling soul and faltering tongue that we approach the greatest text of the Bible, “God is love.”

Yup, that says it all. John makes the powerful assertion that “we love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

In a section in which he is writing about how we should be expressing the love of God to others. He says a bit earlier in the letter that, “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11

John explains that we have come to know (experientially) and believe the agape love that God has for us 1 John 4:16, and because of that there is an expectation that we should act on that love. If love originates with God, then the one who is walking with God should be demonstrating love. 1 John 4:17

 

[Marvelloustime]

I am only aware of what is written in the scrips .
I dont heed what other men wrote to simply appeal to the changing society and age we now live in my friend .
Many men did major major damage to the churches .
The damage done to the church was those who did not correct and often used
mens own ideals to come against those who would correct and expose the error .
I wonder how paul would have been seen by this lost generation .
Try reading the warnings HE gave the church . And for them to understand
that its time to cease the sin . You go and read some bible . todays men have truly destroyed
their own people , but we cant just blame todays men , I mean people sit under exactly what they love to hear .
WHEN o when is this generation gonna realize
the mess it is in ............TIME for correction . Time to do what many wont do
Do all for the sake of the people and to expose this hyprocrisy of what it calleth love .

@Tothalordbeallglory
“Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭KJV

 

[Marvelloustime]

I am only aware of what is written in the scrips .
I dont heed what other men wrote to simply appeal to the changing society and age we now live in my friend .
Many men did major major damage to the churches .
The damage done to the church was those who did not correct and often used
mens own ideals to come against those who would correct and expose the error .
I wonder how paul would have been seen by this lost generation .
Try reading the warnings HE gave the church . And for them to understand
that its time to cease the sin . You go and read some bible . todays men have truly destroyed
their own people , but we cant just blame todays men , I mean people sit under exactly what they love to hear .
WHEN o when is this generation gonna realize
the mess it is in ............TIME for correction . Time to do what many wont do
Do all for the sake of the people and to expose this hyprocrisy of what it calleth love .

@Tothalordbeallglory
“For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[Marvelloustime]

I am only aware of what is written in the scrips .
I dont heed what other men wrote to simply appeal to the changing society and age we now live in my friend .
Many men did major major damage to the churches .
The damage done to the church was those who did not correct and often used
mens own ideals to come against those who would correct and expose the error .
I wonder how paul would have been seen by this lost generation .
Try reading the warnings HE gave the church . And for them to understand
that its time to cease the sin . You go and read some bible . todays men have truly destroyed
their own people , but we cant just blame todays men , I mean people sit under exactly what they love to hear .
WHEN o when is this generation gonna realize
the mess it is in ............TIME for correction . Time to do what many wont do
Do all for the sake of the people and to expose this hyprocrisy of what it calleth love .

@Tothalordbeallglory
“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[JoshebB]

How can a Christian escape the text, “God is love”? But if we use this text we have said it all, for the text is so all-inclusive, so final, that it leaves nothing to be said. It is with trembling soul and faltering tongue that we approach the greatest text of the Bible, “God is love.”

????? Which Christian has done that? Which Christian has escaped 1 John 4:8? Or was the question rhetorical?

 

[Julie]

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. GALATIANS 5:16

I don't know about you but when i first started following God, I assumed I would instantly be a completely changed person, that I would automatically desire the things of God, that I would walk according to the Spirit and not the ways of the world. Granted, I was changed—eternally changed. But being changed and saved doesn’t mean we won’t still struggle with fleshly desires. They are part of this broken world.

So if you’re an angry person, or struggle with lustful thoughts, or spend all your time being jealous of people who have nicer things than you, there’s a good chance all of those things didn’t turn off immediately after you were saved. We still live in this world, surrounded by worldly desires—constant reminders of our brokenness.

In Galatians 5:22–23, Paul told us that there is another way to live, a much more fruitful way to live. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
I read a list like that and think, I pick that. That’s who I want to be.

You can choose that too. You can become that kind of person. You can go from being the angriest person alive to being the gentlest. You can go from being lust-filled to being self-controlled. You can go from being the most stressed out to being the absolute model of peace.

When we declare that Jesus is Lord of our lives, we are forgiven of all that we used to be and are invited to become something new. Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). When we’re “in Christ,” Christ lives in us. And by the power of His Spirit, He starts living through us too.

We need this news, don’t we? While we can sit here all day long trying to justify our sin, we’re still absolutely guilty of sin.
I couldn’t love my wife more than I do. She has the purest heart, she is wise and kind, she is both loving and lovable, and she’s a great doubles partner on the tennis court. She’s amazing. And yet even Sadie Robertson Huff has sinned.

We’ve all been tried, and we’ve all been found guilty—which is precisely what makes the good news of the gospel so good. The question isn’t whether we’ve fallen short of God’s standard of perfection; we have. But what do we do about our sin problem?
The forgiveness of God is our only hope. And once we commit ourselves to Jesus and long to “walk by the Spirit,” as Paul said, we no longer have to gratify those fleshly desires like fits of rage, chronic envy, sexual immorality, or drunken nights.

All of it is forgiven by Jesus. All of it can be washed away. And the ripple effect of walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh will leave every single person who knows and loves you shaking their heads in disbelief at the miracle of God’s forgiveness and the Spirit’s work in your life.


Put Love First

 

[Marvelloustime]

I am only aware of what is written in the scrips .
I dont heed what other men wrote to simply appeal to the changing society and age we now live in my friend .
Many men did major major damage to the churches .
The damage done to the church was those who did not correct and often used
mens own ideals to come against those who would correct and expose the error .
I wonder how paul would have been seen by this lost generation .
Try reading the warnings HE gave the church . And for them to understand
that its time to cease the sin . You go and read some bible . todays men have truly destroyed
their own people , but we cant just blame todays men , I mean people sit under exactly what they love to hear .
WHEN o when is this generation gonna realize
the mess it is in ............TIME for correction . Time to do what many wont do
Do all for the sake of the people and to expose this hyprocrisy of what it calleth love .

@Tothalordbeallglory
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[Tothalordbeallglory]

@Tothalordbeallglory
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

sisters here

 

[Marvelloustime]

I am only aware of what is written in the scrips .
I dont heed what other men wrote to simply appeal to the changing society and age we now live in my friend .
Many men did major major damage to the churches .
The damage done to the church was those who did not correct and often used
mens own ideals to come against those who would correct and expose the error .
I wonder how paul would have been seen by this lost generation .
Try reading the warnings HE gave the church . And for them to understand
that its time to cease the sin . You go and read some bible . todays men have truly destroyed
their own people , but we cant just blame todays men , I mean people sit under exactly what they love to hear .
WHEN o when is this generation gonna realize
the mess it is in ............TIME for correction . Time to do what many wont do
Do all for the sake of the people and to expose this hyprocrisy of what it calleth love .

@Tothalordbeallglory
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[Marvelloustime]

sisters here

I was spotted! You got me. Haha.

 

[Julie]

GOD HAS COMPASSION FOR YOU

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” LUKE 15:20

WHEN HONEY WAS ONE, I HAD A SERIES OF SPEAKING engagements that took me to four states in two days, and while that kind of trip normally wouldn’t faze me, this time I was traveling alone with her. And Honey was busy.

So on this whirlwind business trip, I was in for it. While I appreciated the instant twenty-pound weight loss every time I put her down, as soon as her little feet touched the ground, she was off. Airport after airport, every time she reached the floor, whoosh! Off she went.

I would wonder, Doesn’t she know that she’s supposed to stay near me? That it’s not safe to run from me? That I’m really not trying to ruin all her fun by having her right by my side, where I can take care of her?

After Jesus was crucified, His dear friend Peter returned to what he did before he followed Jesus—he went fishing. I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but with all that Peter had walked through with Jesus, you would think that he would still be preaching the gospel and going around believing for healing and miracles. But nope, he was fishing.

I believe Peter returned to fishing because that was comfortable to him, because before Jesus, that was what Peter did. I wonder if he thought that by denying Jesus and abandoning Him during His darkest hour, he no longer knew what to do, so he just went back to fishing.

But Jesus came back for Peter. He called to him from the shore, gave him a miracle catch of fish, and then sat with him, had a breakfast with him, and redeemed and restored their relationship with three “I love you” moments.
Honey may run when her feet hit the ground, but although she may have to face consequences for running away, I am always going to run after her, pick her up, and tell her that I love her. In the same way, we can chase our own will, running back to what feels good and what is comfortable, or we can surrender to Jesus and run back to God.

Will you submit yourself to God? He will give you grace.

Will you submit yourself to God? He will give you grace, and just like I do when my Honey comes back to me from her defiant, willful ways, God welcomes us back into His arms.

How to Put LOVE First
Have you been running from God recently or resting in Him? Sometimes, even after we are saved, we get distracted and tempted to run off. Let’s pray together: God, don’t let us run away from You or Your will for us. Help us stay with You.

Put Love First

 

[Julie]

DAY 7

GOD DELIGHTS IN YOU

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. ZEPHANIAH 3:17


SADIE

YEARS AGO, AFTER A TERRIBLE BUT NEEDED BREAKUP, I stood in front of the mirror and hated what I saw. It wasn’t my body that I hated, but the reality of my life. I was at my lowest point mentally, spiritually, and emotionally—a result of the wildly dysfunctional relationship I’d been in. I cried so hard that I wondered if the tears would ever stop.

Today’s verse from Zephaniah popped into mind that night. God was rejoicing over me? Me, with my wayward heart, my scattered thoughts, my out-of-control emotions, and my mascara-smudged eyes? As difficult as it was for me to believe, He was.
I’d spent nearly three years working like crazy to please and delight my boyfriend, and I’d failed. Nothing was ever enough. And yet here was God, looking at me in my worst-possible condition, saying, “You’re delightful to Me.”
I remember being so perplexed by that idea. I was delightful, in that state, to God?

Something hit me that night that I’ve never forgotten: God doesn’t delight in us because we’re especially delightful; He delights in us because we are His.

We need this message today! A lot of us think that the acceptance and comfort and love we’re seeking are going to come through a relationship, but they’re not. They come only through our relationship with Christ. We are always enough for Him.
After that bad breakup, it would have been easy to wake up each day feeling unhappy over what had just ended. But I chose instead to wake up seeking the will of God. I started each day begging God to keep me from feeling bitter and angry and jealous. Day after day I asked Him to help me feel love, gratitude, and peace. I started praying for my ex instead of despising him. I looked for ways I could learn from the experience instead of wishing it had never happened.

Over time, as I was consistent about seeking God’s will and practicing God’s ways, He started showing me a picture of the man He had for me. This man would be tender and kind. He would be funny. He would compel me toward deeper intimacy with Jesus through his unwavering acceptance and love.

I caught some flak for what looked like flying through guys as I dated and moved on quickly. But the truth was that God had given me a picture of the type of man who was worth waiting for, and those guys just weren’t my husband. By the time I met Christian, I was so sure that he was the man God had for me that I felt instantly at peace with him. He was not perfect—no one is. I sure am not! But there was a peace. The irony of this story is that I really began to find love at a time when it looked like I’d lost it. It was when I was single that I began to find love—God’s love.

If I could give you one piece of advice as you’re dealing with pain or heartbreak—which is always part of life—it’s to start taking God’s Word personally. The Bible is a love letter from our heavenly Father to us, a love letter from One who delights in us. He sees you. He loves you. He has good plans for you. He rejoices over you and lifts your spirits with His song.

How to Put LOVE First
Let the reminder that God delights in you and rejoices over you wash over you today. Write it down, repeat it to yourself, say it out loud.

Put Love First