The Miracle of the Fullness of God

The Lord inspired the Apostle Paul to include the following heartfelt prayer in one of his letters to the churches.

Ephesians 3:17-19, "I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love -- how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God." (see New Century Version.)

We understand from this Scripture that God's love is total. It reaches every corner of our experience -- from the height of our celebration to the depth of our grief and sorrow. This love is too much to understand with our minds and much greater than we could ever comprehend, yet this wise apostle prays for a miracle! He prays that we would know God's love, so that we can be filled with the fullness of God!

It is impossible to know God's love completely, but that doesn't mean we should ever stop searching. The Lord promises that if we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him.

Is that where you are right now? Are you ready to seek to know God's love? Do you desire to know Him, to follow Him? Do you confess that you are unable to do so without His assistance?

Then, you are ready. Step out today and begin anew. He wants to show you a deeper love that will satisfy your hungry soul. Just ask.

Love, Karen

God is Not Limited

1 Corinthians 13:9, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part."

Our best knowledge and our greatest abilities to teach that which we know are exactly like our condition: limited and temporary. This is the way it is and it is the way it will remain as long as we live in these temporary bodies on this earth.

Our Heavenly Father, the God Whom we serve, possesses three specific characteristics:

1. He is omnipotent: almighty, infinite in power, having unlimited authority.

2. He is omnipresent: present everywhere at the same time.

3. He is omniscient: having unlimited knowledge, awareness; perceiving all things.

Wherever I lack, God fulfills. Whenever I am not up to the task at hand, God can do it. When I cannot be in more than one place at a time, God is everywhere. When I do not understand, God does.

We have hope because we serve a Mighty God. We put our trust in the One that calls the earth His footstool. We can believe in the King Who is enthroned in the Heavens.

It doesn't make me feel bad to realize that I can only know in part, because I am acquainted with the One Who knows everything. And He is my God. He is my Savior. He is my Friend. I belong to Him.

...And He loves me.

Karen

God's Love is Constant

1 Corinthians 13:8, "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease, whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away."

The character of Christ is constant. When the world around us delivers confusion, change, and calamity, the genuine love of Jesus stands serene and sure. However, it is only as we open our hearts to Him that we can ever hope to share that same enduring quality of His eternal love.

If your religion centers on the admiration you have for oratory skills, spiritual gifts, and educational degrees, then you will be gravely disappointed. If you love the Lord because He has blessed you with possesions, good health, and a well-paying job, you are basing your Christianity on temporal things.

On the other hand, if your religion is based on a relationship with your Savior, then your foundation is sure. His love for you never fluctuates, and certainly never vanishes. This is His character.

The remarkable truth is that He wants to share this same love with you so that you can love Him back, and so that you can show this love to a chaotic world.

Lord Jesus, You are the same yesterday, and today, and forever. This thought stirs me to the depth of my soul. I can face the future knowing that You are with me, You never change, and You never fail. Thank you for teaching me about genuine love. Amen.

Defined and Developed...Only to Give Away

Love..."bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," 1 Corinthians 13:7.

"The New Testament in Modern English" translates it this way: "Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything."

What Kind of Love?

This kind of love - genuine and eternal - is supernatural. It is Christ-in-us that enables us to serve, to give, and to work so that others are drawn to Him. Souls are not saved by believing in our works, but by believing in the accomplished work on the Cross, so we always point to Jesus Christ. We must boast in the Lord and give Him the credit for what He has done.

How Do I Do It?

Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

John 15:12-13, "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no one that this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

We are not to try to divide our love between God and others, but let God love others through us. This is why we are to love God first, and then love one another. They're equal in importance, but in that order for a reason. We cannot love others with God's love without first loving Him - and we love Him because He first loved us. (See 1 John 4:19.)

How Will I Know I Have Love?

1 John 2:3-5, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him."

The proof of our love for God is seen in our actions and confirmed by our attitudes. As we seek the Lord daily in prayer and in reading His Word, He will cleanse us and make us usable. As we obey His instructions, He will give us eyes to see the needs around us and we will be willing to give selflessly.

Will I Receive More?

Ephesians 3:19, "To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." The more we know God's character, and the more we understand His love, the more our love for Him will grow.

Here we meet the essence of Christlikeness: love others with the love we have been given.

Love, Karen

Another Facet of Genuine Love

The city of Corinth was located in the modern-day country of Greece. It was the most populated city in all of the land, and a very busy seaport. Paul had planted a church there, mostly made up of gentiles, on his second journey during his ministry. They were surrounded by idolotry and corruption. Their mythology was so imbedded in the culture that the new church members became confused and chameleon-like in their conduct within the structure of the church, as well as without. The pressure to conform to worldy behavior had overtaken them, so when Paul heard of their struggles, he wrote a letter, and today we refer to this as the first epistle to the Corinthians.

Over sixteen chapters, the Lord used Paul to explain a moral code that should be followed within the fellowship of the new believers. He corrected problems and answered questions. He reminded them of the simple Gospel message that they had embraced before. He taught them concerning worship, law suits, and spiritual gifts. Paul boldly confronted the Corinthians about their sins and shortcomings.

Throughout, genuine love is interlaced among the instructions Paul has for the young church. He conveys this thought even when he must discipline and rebuke. Then, with plain words he details the conduct of genuine love. He writes that love is never glad about wrong behavior, but rejoices when the truth wins out. Genuine love causes us to want to stand up for what is right and to rejoice with those that have the courage to do so. However, genuine love does not lord it over those that do not have that same grace quite yet.

It is true that mercy must go hand in hand with truth and justice. This is what Paul conveyed to the Christians in Corinth. He knew that they were young, that they had a long way to go in their walk with the Lord, and that with training they would learn.

Proverbs 3:3, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man."

Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Genuine love requires that each of us has a heart of mercy. The Lord has shown great mercy to us because He came to die on the cross in our place. He had compassion because we were like sheep without a shepherd.

We are like the Corinthians in many ways. We need correction along the way, but we also need mercy and compassion. We also must learn to give mercy and compassion.

Lord, it may take us a while to learn the scope of genuine love. Continue to give us the grace as we surrender ourselves to you. Teach us to love by loving through us. Amen.

Love Rejoices in the Truth

Love..."does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth," 1 Corinthians 13:6.

Iniquity is an interesting word and deserves our careful consideration. It conveys an absence of moral or spiritual values which results in an unjust act. Other synonyms for the word are injustice, unrighteousness, and wrong. Love finds no satisfaction in this bahavior - whether in our own lives or in the lives of others. The Word of God instructs us to flee from it. "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity," 2 Timothy 2:19.

Truth, on the other hand, is what is really going on inside despite the outward appearance. Love motivates us to search out the heart of a matter.

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come," John 16:13.

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," John 8:32.

All of us behave according to what is in our hearts. Do we harbor guilt, bitterness, or immorality? We must be vigilant to ask the Lord to reveal the iniquity in our hearts that we might be set free from this bondage. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," 1 John 1:9.

When we have been set free, we can look at others through the eyes of genuine love which is exactly the way Jesus sees. He doesn't expect us to pretend we do not see, or to turn away from a person. However, the Lord does ask us to look with an unbiased mind and humble heart. We must receive God's grace to use the self-restraint which refuses our focusing on the weaknesses of others.

This kind of response to another's unrighteous behavior is genuine love in action. So we learn that truth without genuine love is iniquity.

Love, Karen

The "New" in New Commandment

The Old Testament law commands us to love our neighbors. "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord," Leviticus 19:18.

Why, then, does the New Testament reiterate this principle and label it as "new?" Isn't this the very same commandment?

John 13:34-35 says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

The answer to these questions lie in Christ's fulfillment of the law. What makes this command brand new is the genuine love of Jesus. He instructed us to love one another in the same way He loved us! Such love will not only bring unbelievers to Christ; it will also keep believers strong and united in a world that is hostile to God.

Jesus explains in The Sermon on the Mount that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17.

Our Lord Jesus is the ultimate example of genuine love. When others notice the love that we have for one another, they will be drawn to the Lord and He will be glorified.

Lord Jesus, thank You for helping me understand that the reason You came to earth was because of Your genuine love. Thank You that you demonstrated this love so that we might have an example. Thank You for teaching me how to love. Amen

Opposites Hold True

As we continue reading our Bibles daily, we discover that love is a theme throughout the Holy Scriptures. At times, the Word of God reveals an idea by describing the opposite of it, thus making the reader understand more fully. We know that, in simple terms, selfishness is the opposite of genuine love. By applying the "opposite method" to our Bible study, we are sure to grasp a fuller meaning of God's love.

We learn from 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. Since we know what love does not do, we will rightly conclude what selfishness does:

Selfishness = Rude Behavior, Bad Manners

Selfishness = Attention to Own Endeavors Only

Selfishness = Taking Personal Offense

Selfishness = Keeping Record

The purpose of studying the aspects of selfish behavior is so that we might identify it in our own lives. Selfishness is the result of allowing our worldly nature to rule us. This, of course, is sin and it is a natural inclination.

Just as surely as the above equations are true, so are the following:

Genuine Love = Showing Honor by Considerate Behavior
Genuine Love = Seeking Well-Being of Others
Genuine Love = Controlling Temper
Genuine Love = Eagerly Believing the Best

We study the attributes of genuine love so that we can identify it in others that it might be an example to us. What an encouragement it is when we witness genuine love flowing from a life of a believer! It challenges us to be examples to others.

Philippians 2:3-4, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others."

Proverbs 14:29, "He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly."

Colossians 3:14, "But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection."

The essence of genuine love is selfless sacrifice out of concern for the needs of others. To actually put aside our own wants and needs is not only difficult to do, but it is impossible without the Lord. He is the one Who imparts this love and then supplies the grace that motivates us to act it out. May He continue to expand our understanding as we step out in faith.

Love, Karen