How Do We Love According To The Bible? 1 John 3:18

Everybody talks about love but when is it real?

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth"  1 John 3:18.

DEAR CHILDREN

The Apostle John uses the affection of a father beseeching his children to correct actions.  It is not an insult for the apostle to refer to the church as children.  Jesus himself said unless we turn and become as a "little child we will not see the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3.

LET US NOT

The instruction starts with the negative, "do not."  Sometimes we have to approach change in the negative first and decide to stop doing this or that.  There is a way that we should not love and we should resolve to not love in the wrong ways.

LOVE
The love illustrated in the Bible is not simply emotional, like affection, but it is always sacrificial and giving.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son..." John 3:16.

WORD OR SPEECH

This is the kind of love we are not to practice.  They say talk is cheap.  God's love for us was not only talk but actions.  He saw our need for a savior and sent his Son to die to take our sin's punishment.

You can have kind loving words and you may mean them but if you fail to follow through with them or make them real by your actions then the lie of your actions outweighs your words.

There is another idea of loving in your speech that is even worse; they are loving words that were never true to begin with, these words of love were never meant to be more than words.

BUT WITH ACTIONS
We need to live out our words and be doers of love not just talkers of love.  This is real love.  We are each one of us surrounded by people with all kinds of needs; we need to engage them and become those who meet the needs we see around us.

AND IN TRUTH
This may be the hardest part since our hearts are so deceptive, we find ourselves second-guessing our motives.  We must be sincere and honest.

If God so loves people so much that he gave his son for their sins then we must also love others the same way.  We must love people in a real way of meaningful actions; the world needs it more than ever, and our fulfillment depends on it too.

If you do not have God in your life then you are missing the essential relationship that empowers us to truly love; to find out more about having the love of God in your life see my other blog.

(c) Adron 3/17/18

What is the one thing that could change the world's view of Christians?

People today see Christians as narrow-minded with hidden agendas and rigid views.  If there was only one thought that we could live out that would change how the world see God's people what would that be?

"Let all you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

LET
This word suggests a choice.  You must choose to love overall options.  You must choose love over being right, better, leader, correct doctrine, or political view.

You must open the door to love from our lives to those around us. You must allow things that facilitate love, this takes thought and planning but to let something happen is to be intentional.

You must not stand in the way of things that are love either.

ALL
This is a word that means everything and without exception.  It means there is no situation that acting in love can be suspended, and there is no situation where love is second place.

YOU DO
To love is a personal responsibility.  You cannot say that it is for others to do or that since a church has a program for the homeless or the poor or a ministry of a loving nature that it satisfies the mandate for you to love, just giving to a loving church is not enough- you must love.  It has to be you expressing love to your community and every person you meet.

BE DONE
These two words are past tense in a present tense sentence.  This is a strong emphasis.  It shouts that the end result of all you are doing in the now must have the effect of love.  There is no I'll start tomorrow, it always does love now.

IN LOVE
So much has been said and written about love that I dare not burden the universe with anymore.
     * Learn and memorize the scriptures on love such as 1 Corinthians 13.
     * Meditate on Jesus teaching on love.
     * Study his example of love.
     * Pray God to open your eyes to ways you have not shown love.
     * Read God's Word looking for scriptures that teach about love, and make plans to specifically obey them.

May God's standard of love be our standard and the measure of all we do.

Without a relationship with the God of love then we are not able to live out true love, to learn how to have God in your life see my other post.

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and and encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar.

(c) Adron 6/14/15

What Do You Do When Someone Wants to Start A New Program at Church? Hebrews 10:24

Sometimes people come up with a project or a program and we are sure it misses the point or purpose of the church. How do we handle them and their proposed project?

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24.

The first half of this verse is about us.

LET US
Life is full of choices. We must choose to be people who are focused on the wellbeing of others. The words, let us, is like an invitation, or a call to action. We can't have the attitude that it is the minister's job to encourage others to service, it is for all of us to do.

CONSIDER
We need to think about ways of encouraging others. We can't just rely upon random opportunities to encourage people. We need to make plans to, and set goals.

SPUR
A spur causes the horse to move forward. Soldiers would spur their horses into battle when the noise would cause the animal to flee another way. It is a painful goad which cannot be ignored. Some translations use the word, stir, which suggest bringing the good up to the top of the pot. We, humans, have a tendency to get settled and need frequent reminders to continue to serve Christ. Sometimes those reminders are uncomfortable.

ONE ANOTHER
We do not just spur our brothers in faith but we get to be spurred by them too. None of us are free from the need to be encouraged to serve God.

LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS
We don't do good deeds and act in love to obtain a good standing with God, but because he has made us able to stand through the blood of Christ.

Love and good deeds reflect the nature of Christ in us. We want to do them because he did them we are his hands and feet in this world.

WHAT ABOUT THAT PROJECT?
The church should not be an idle place- it should be a place of activity, good works, service, and spiritual warfare. We must give and receive encouragement if the church is to move ahead and influence this generation. No time is better than any another for encouraging. Everyone who serves should be encouraged in their efforts.

Maybe the new project someone wants to start will fall flat or misses the mark of the church's mission, but we should resolve to encourage people in whatever good work they are doing; and if they are not doing any we should all the more encourage them to take up the command to love and serve through some good work

(c)Adron Dozat 1/18/15

How To Get People To Treat You Nice

"Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." Luke 6:31.

The words quoted are from the teaching of Jesus. We call it the golden rule. He gave these words in between a statement about giving without asking in return, and a statement about loving your enemies.

In Matthew 7:12 he adds that this one guideline summed up all the law and the prophets.

Jesus keeps it simple. It is hard to do...

You have to think about people.
You have to care about people.
You have to love people.
You have to see people as being like you are yourself- not worse or lesser.

(c)Adron Dozat

____________________________

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and an encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above.  

Adron




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How To Tell If Someone Is A Christian.

What is the real test of being a Christian?  Is it doing great works of good, is it by enduring persecution, having beautiful worship or something else?

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35.

WHAT CHRIST DID NOT SAY
It is interesting that Christ did not say going to church makes people know you are his disciple, or giving to charity, owning a Bible, wearing a cross, or experiencing a miracle.

EVERYONE
Our lives are on display. We may not like it, but it is the truth—the world sees. If a person is following the Lord, it will be on public record through the eyes of each person they meet.

IT IS ABOUT JESUS
Jesus's teaching is unique and unmistakable. If we follow his teaching, we will naturally love one another. If we follow anybody else's teaching, we will not have this supernatural love for Christ's followers.

We need his teaching, and we need it in our lives. We need to sit at his feet, read his word, and listen to his spirit.

LOVE
Love is not just good feelings. It involves many actions, such as giving, service, and sacrifice. The Lord gave the ultimate example of love, for the Bible says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

ONE ANOTHER
Christ said this love does not have favorites.  His disciples will love not just nice people, but all people.  Jesus spent a lot of time with the maimed, messed up and underclasses.  It cost him his reputation and earned the disdain of those who cherished earthly status over the spiritual treasure.

IF YOU DON'T LOVE
Not to love is very bad.  It suggests that a person has never experienced the Gospel's saving power.  Jesus spoke of salvation as a new birth, which means we have a new life and a power to love which comes from a union with Christ in his life and death.  If love does not characterize your life reconsider the question of your salvation.

To find out more about becoming born again by faith in Jesus visit my other blog: Click here.

(c)Adron Dozat 8/30/13

How Does a Believer Show They Love Jesus?

We know we should love God but how? It is not like you can give him a hug. But Jesus said there is a way.

"The third time he said to him."Simon son of John do you love me?" Peter was hurt because he asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" he said, "Lord you know all things; you know I love you." Jesus said. "Feed my sheep." John 21:17

SIMON

Simon also called Peter denied Jesus three times on the night Christ was crucified. Simon must have been full of self-doubt, that his position as leader was forfeit and unworthy of being a disciple of the Lord.

Then Jesus returns from the grave, having overcome the judgment of sin and victorious over death. Three times the question is put to Simon, "do you love me?"

DO YOU LOVE ME

He asks not because he is narcissistic but because he is worthy of Peter's love and our love; we are at our best when we love God and live out an expression of that love.

LORD...YOU KNOW...

Peter called him Lord here, and if Jesus was only a good teacher or rabbi, he would have had to correct Peter, but he instead accepts it as the correct title. As Lord, he knows Peter's heart. He knows all things, and he knows our hearts too.

FEED MY SHEEP

Jesus said to feed his sheep or lambs three times. It may have been because Peter denied him three times, or because the Bible is full of the threefold representation of God, or the progression in the questions the Lord asked Peter and his answers. Each time the duty was more demanding, they went from feeding lambs to leading the sheep to tend them. Christ covered all the duties, and Peter could not doubt the totality of the request.

To care for sheep is hard unending work full of heartbreak and frustration. If we love Jesus, we will love his sheep- all those people with problems who make foolish choices and come to us all the time with needs and problems. He loves them, and if we love him, we love those who are his too.

There are many ways we can do this.

     * Give them the encouragement of the Word of God.
     * Guide them where we can.
     * Protect them when it is possible to do so.
     * Give them what they need when we have it.
     * Find them when they stray.
     * Lift them up when they fall.

Do we love our Lord? The way we treat his people will show just how much.

(c) Adron Dozat 8/18/13

What Do I Do To Earn God's Love?

Is it possible that God can love us when we are bad people and do bad things to others? Is there something we should do to ensure God's love to us? Do we need to start some program of religion to earn the love of God?

"He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of this glorious grace which he has freely give us in the one he loves." Ephesians 1:5-6, NIV.

PREDESTINED
Since God is all-knowing he knew that creating mankind would result in his own sacrifice on the cross to pay for the rebellion of mankind.  Yet it is a marvel of love that with such complete knowledge God went ahead and created the world and the people in it- even knowing they would become rebels against him.

There are many questions about the relationship of man to God, but much is clear; first that God not only had foreknowledge of man's rebellion, and even so He already had love for mankind.  It was part of God's plan that he would love each of us even to his own death on our behalf.

     * Before we repent God already loved us.
     * Before we serve him God already loved us.
     * Before we worship him God already loved us.
     * Before we were born God already loved us.

ADOPTION
When we come to God through Jesus we are not only saved from our sin's judgment and hell's eternal torment we are brought into a relationship with the Father.  He not only sees us as His servants and members of His kingdom but He adopts us into sonship as his heirs.

SONSHIP
As far as God is concerned we have the same rights and privileges before him as His son.  We are not on the outside in any sense of the word- we are more than ever inside the place of God's favor.  We are royalty in the kingdom of God.  This is love to the extreme.  He holds nothing back.

HIS PLEASURE
God is not like us and is not motivated like we are.  He is pleased to share Himself with us.  He is happy to give blessings to those who accept His salvation.  We can't understand why a mighty God would give so much to rebels and transgressors but it is something we can be thankful for.

Nothing we can do will make God love us more than he already does, but if we have rejected his salvation we will not experience or know that love personally.  He invites us to grace through his son Jesus.

To learn more about how to become a child of God follow this link: Click Here.

(c)Adron Dozat

Why Should I love God?

We know we should love God, the Bible commands us to "Love the Lord your God," Deuteronomy 6:5; it is a good command and a right thing to do, but somehow we are still indifferent to God and struggle with loving him.

"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy."  Psalms 116:1, NIV.

This Bible verse shows a person who says they love the Lord. This person is not secretive, but is passionate and publicly declares that he loves God.

LOVE
Love is relational.  This person must have had a growing relationship with God that led to loving God.  This relationship seems to be built on communication, for he talks to God in prayer.  There is a suggestion of something more because he goes on to say that God has heard his cry for mercy.

HE HEARD MY VOICE,
We want to be heard, and acknowledged; it validates us and gives us self-worth; but for God to hear our voice is far more.  The barrier between God and man must be dealt with to the satisfaction of our Holy God.  We cannot overcome the barrier of our wrongs but God can by His forgiveness to those who seek it.

CRY FOR MERCY
Mercy is what you need when you are in trouble with the judge.  We might say, "I throw myself upon the mercy of the court."  There are times in your life when you sense that you have done wrong by God or your fellow man.  You may feel guilt and shame and are aware of the judgment for the wrongs we have done.  You can cry out to God and confess your wrongs and ask his forgiveness.  From this verse, you can be assured that the Lord hears your cry for mercy.  God hears our cry for mercy because He has the power to grant mercy and forgiveness.  When you need mercy, then you need a relationship with the One who has the power to pardon your sins.

THE SUPREME REASON
We should love God because
     * He is good.
     * He is right.
     * He is generous.
     * He gives us life.
     * He gives us His blessing.
     * He loves us.
     * And many more reasons.
But there is one above the others- we should love God because he loves us and so forgives our wrongs when we can't do anything about them ourselves.  We should love God because He sent His son to die in our place to pay for our wrongs, and offers eternal life to those who come to Him and accept his gift salvation.

To learn more about how to find God see my other blog just follow this link: Click Here.

 (c) Adron Dozat

Why Does God Take So Long?

Why does God take so long? We have situations and needs and we are desperate for solutions. We pray and look to God but in the back of our mind is the question, "What's taking so long?"

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." Psalm 130:5-7, NIV.

IMPATIENT
We want results immediately; like the TV shows we want all the problems are solved in half an hour. We are impatient, but to wait on the Lord is a major principle of faith, the Bible is full of it and we hurry over it.

FAITH
The Psalmist mastered this discipline; he says, "I wait... my soul waits... I put my hope... my soul waits... more than watchmen wait for morning... hope in the lord..." If you do not have Jesus this kind of waiting is impossible, because it is an act of faith. "With the Lord is unfailing Love and with him is full redemption." The author could wait in faith since he had the facts of God. He knew there was a loving and redeeming purpose in the wait.

Remember the facts about God, like the verse says, "in his word I put my hope." My life is not my own, it is his and he has a purpose in my situation. We may not understand it but he does. He has a timetable, it is not ours; we want him to hurry up but it is not for us to dictate to God.

IT IS NOT ABOUT US
Verse 7 reminds us, to put our hope in the Lord. We want to take short cuts, and hurry things along; instead we must wait for God to do what needs to be done. We must not hope in ourselves and our ways of solving situations but just focus on the Lord and wait to see Him in it. This does not mean sit back and do nothing, we must do what is right but let God be sovereign in the results.

COMFORT
It is comforting that, "with the Lord is unfailing love, and with him is full redemption." The difficulties we face are designed by God with His love right in the middle. We will be better for it. We want Him to hurry- but we must resolve to patiently wait on the Lord.

To learn more about finding God follow this link: click here.

(c)Adron Dozat

____________________________

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and an encouragement.
For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above.

Adron

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How To Love. Ephesians 5:2

Jesus gives the ultimate example of love. What would sum up his example of how to love? The Bible suggests an answer to this question.

"And live a life of love, just as Christ has loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2, NIV*.

A LIFE OF LOVE
To live a life of love is a wonderful idea but what is it? Today love has become polluted and is associated with what one can get; love has become all about me and my feelings. It has become cheap, common, and little.

THE LOVE OF JESUS
The Lord did not live a life of seeking gratification, he lived a life of service and sacrifice; this defines Jesus' love. The verse above refers to his love as a past tense. The past tense points out that his love is proved and evidenced by the history of actions. There are things to look at in the life of Jesus which say this action is love.

HE GAVE HIMSELF
His life was not taken it was given; the death of Jesus on the cross was not an accident, but he gave himself freely. It was on purpose that the Lord left heaven to take on human flesh as a baby to become a man that would die as a substitute for our sins.

WHAT IS SO FRAGRANT?
A fragrant offering is one that is acceptable and pleasing to God. It is one that fully satisfies the requirements of holiness, meaning when Jesus died for our sins it was enough- no more is needed to answer the judgment of God.

Jesus' love compelled him to become a servant and he did what no other servant could do, he paid for the sins of mankind. We will never fully appreciate the depth and awesomeness of that act. All of God's judgment against each man's sin entirely came upon Jesus as he hung on the cross.

OUR PART
For salvation there is no "our part," he did it all, we cannot add to it improve it or make it better. We simply accept by faith what Jesus did on our behalf as our savior. When we trust Jesus as savor he comes into our lives and gives us the power to love as he did.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING
"And live a life of love..." These words are words of commitment, not an accident. We must partner with God's Spirit in us by resolving to live a life of love. We must decide to love and seek sacrificial acts of love to perform.

If you are interested in learning more about how to have Jesus' love in your life follow this link: Click Here.

To read this verse in other translations follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.

© Adron 12/25/12

How To Have a Perfect Church Service. Psalm 48:9

We go to church and we have expectations. We know we should have a good attitude, but we want to get something out of it too, including dynamic preaching and beautiful music. With all the conflicting needs and wants how can we ever have a perfect church service?

"Within your temple O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." Psalm 48:9 NIV. *

YOUR TEMPLE
We often forget whose temple the church is. It is not our temple or even the temple of a religion. When we come into our church service we need to remind ourselves we are by faith entering the holy place of the Lord. Not holy because of a man made building but holy in the presence of the Lord.  By faith we gather to give worship, the service of the fruit of our hearts.

WE MEDITATE
We don't go to be entertained, or even go to be preached at. We go into the worship service to direct our thoughts to the Most High.  We come to church services to remember Him who gave his life on the cross for our sins. We are reminded of how we were lost without the atoning blood of the sacrifice of Jesus. We are reminded of the wonderful God who provided salvation for us.

UNFAILING LOVE
As we who know God by faith in the blood of his son, Jesus, direct our thoughts this way we find that it does not take long before we focus on God's unfailing love.  Byhis love he saw our lost condition with our slavery to sin and hopeless future; a love that says, "For God so loved the world he gave His only begotten son so that whosoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16.  We are brought face to face with a love that acted sacrificially on the behalf of rebels and sinners- a love that did not give up.

When our focus is on God and our thoughts are filled with him it does not matter if the music is off key or the preacher's socks don't match, what matters is what is happening in our hearts.  We go to offer worship in faith not in sight. If our thoughts, private meditations or prayers seem small and trivial we continue to offer them by faith knowing they are accepted by a loving God and our worship is perfected by the Holy Spirit.

To Learn more about how you can find salvation follow this link: Click Here.

*To read this verse in other translations follow this link: Psalms48:9.

(c)Adron Dozat

Is God's Love Beyond Our Understanding? Ephesians 3:17,18

Is God's Love Beyond Understanding?

Can we know God's love?  Is it beyond our understanding?  Is God's love a phantom of religion but never a solid reality?


"And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Ephesians 3:18*. NIV.*


This quote is an excerpt from a prayer the Apostle prayed for the churches he helped found.  One would think his prayer would be, "I pray for you to have correct doctrine," or "I pray for you to have visions," or "I pray for you to be safe from persecution." Instead his prayer is for them to have power to understand the love of Christ. The love of Christ is not like the cultural love full of shallow passion portrayed in the media but a spiritual love.

FIRST WE MUST GET ROOTED
From the roots we draw nourishment; and we roots are our foundation, and stability. Without roots we wither, and we must draw deep in God to grow such roots.

To grow deep roots in love we should...
     * Spend time in prayer.
     * Spend time in His Word, the Bible
     * Spend time in serving him.
     * Spend time in fellowship with those who love him.
     * We should pray that we are rooted in love.

WE MUST BE ESTABLISHED
Something that is established is set in place it stands on its own and does not need support. Something that is established has a record in history, it happens over and over, it is the predictable behavior therefore it is established. This requires actions- actions of love.

GOD GIVES POWER
It is not strange that it takes spiritual power to appreciate Christ's love. Christ love exceeds our understanding of dimensions; it is wide, long, high, and deep. It goes in every direction it is beyond measure. No matter where you turn or go you will still face his love. Because his love is spiritual, holy and heavenly in origin it is beyond the scope of mortal earth bound humanity to perceive. To understand God's love we need him to reveal it to us.

ALL THE LORD'S HOLY PEOPLE
The love of Christ is not something we feel in our own little corner of the world; but it is meant for all the Lord's people we must have love for one another. Our love must cross borders and  boundaries of race, culture, class, or opinions.

If knowing God's love were not possible the Apostle would not have sought it for himself and others. Because Christ died to pay for our sins we can know God's love.

To learn more about finding God's love follow this link: Click Here.

To see other translations of this verse follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.

(c)Adron Dozat

____________________________

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and an encouragement.
For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above.

Adron

Use the share buttons below to save and share this post to your social networks. 

What Makes God Happy? Psalm 147: 10,11

What does the bible say makes God happy? Could there be a more important question? It would be a good thing to be able to please God and a bad thing if we are never able to make him happy. The Bible gives an answer.

"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." Psalm 147:10, 11, NIV*.

STRENGTH AND MIGHT
Mankind looks on the outside, we see a handsome face, a strong body, a fat bank account, a job with status or a position with power, and think God is pleased with those things like we are.

We might do some great thing for God and people will be impressed, but God being God does not need our help and is not impressed with any form of strength. He created the universe and since he created it in the first place our efforts at best borrow what he has given and give back to him what is his already.

We look at big things, monuments, buildings and institutions and we are amazed, but the verse above takes the cavalry and the infantry, or in modern terms, the military might, (which is the biggest institution of a nation), and says he is not pleased with size, power, or ability.

We personally struggle with issues and huge problems and wish the cavalry would come to our rescue but God has another plan. God takes pleasure in those that fear and revere him. He is pleased with those who hope in him, not in themselves or man-made solutions.

HOPE
Hope always looks away from the here to see forward and beyond the current situation. Hope requires something or someone bigger than the need. Hope asks that the one who is bigger is able and willing to rescue. We might put our hope in money, or education, or government assistance, or friends; we hope in the strongest things around us, but it will not please God. If we are not pleasing God we are inviting his disfavor, but hope in God fulfills the need of every heart and promises eternal rescue.

LOVE
God's love is unfailing, the cavalry and infantry may lose the battle and hence the kingdom but God's love never fails. His love is proved at the ultimate victory in the cross where Jesus died to pay for the sins of lost mankind and his love was confirmed when Jesus rose from the grave assuring all who believe in him of eternal life.

The one who would please God is the one who hopes in his love.

Just imagine what it would be like to be a person who God delights in, why choose anything else?

* To read this verse in different translations follow this link: Psalms 147:10.

(c)Adron Dozat

The Perfect Love. Jeremiah 31:3

Does God have a message for us today? If he had one thing to say what would it be?

"The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.'" Jeremiah 31:3, NIV.

There is only one place to start and this verse starts with the Lord, a reminder that the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, our creator, and sustainer who has all power speaks. We should listen to what he says, for it will be right and just.

LOVE

An everlasting love

This verse references love three times. A triangle is the strongest structure in engineering and the threefold love of God for us can't be bent or broken.

He had already given us his love we do not need to earn it or merit it- it is already given. We might ask who will love me, God answers, "I have loved you..." It is like he is saying, "I have been loving you all along."This grammar is in the past tense but this love is not only in the past.

His love is an everlasting love, one that will never end. God will never change and his love for us will never change. God controls time, therefore, his love is outside of time; though seasons and calendars may change God's love for us will never change.

DRAW
To draw someone is to bring them close. In this verse is the sense of God holding out his hands to us and beckoning us to come to him. He has given us blessings of life, and mind, a conscience, and a soul. He could have drawn us to himself with thunder, lightning, earthquakes, angels of flame, or by declarations of "Obey me or else," but instead he draws us to himself with loving-kindness.

God has been merciful to humanity. His justice demands a payment for sin and he could have brought angry wrath for the many evils we each have done, but in his loving-kindness, he is calling us to come to him.  The greatest act of loving-kindness was in His Son Jesus who died to pay for the penalty of our sins.

The Lord appeared to us in the ultimate communication in the person of Jesus. His message is the same today as in the distant past, he loves you with an everlasting love, you can receive Him or reject Him and His love for you is the same.

Do you feel him drawing you? Another prophet echoes God's invitation when he said, "Come let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet they will be as snow, though they are red as crimson they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:17.

(c) Adron 5/3/12

We Should Not Fear God Psalm 86:15

Some people think of God as a big mean grouch on a throne commanding all kinds of "you shall not do this or that," and then threatening us with fire, lightning, and thunder.

"But Thou, O, Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Psalms 86:15, KJV.

KILLJOY

It is wrong to think God is a Killjoy

The idea that God is a killjoy is as wrong as it can get.  The Bible teaches we should fear God but it should be for the right reasons- that we truly know and understand him.  God loves us and sent his Son to open the way to know his love.  Jesus said, "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10, NIV.

COMPASSION
God doesn't just have a little compassion, grace, and mercy; he is full of compassion, grace, and mercy.  All his actions and thoughts toward us are abounding with long-suffering and truth. His thoughts toward us are guided by grace and mercy.  There is no place in him for caprice, falsehood, cruelty, evil, or any such thing.

     * Compassion: He understands with empathy all we suffer and go through.
     * Grace: He is always giving us air to breathe and forbears our daily sins against him.
     * Long-suffering: He endures our rebellion against him and the injuries we do to others.
     * Mercy: He offers salvation that is free since he did the work for us by dying on the cross to pay for our sins.  Then gives us a new life in a relationship with Him. He gives us daily cleansing of our sins, (we are responsible to repent and to turn from our sins).
     * Truth. He knows the truth about each one of us. He knows our disappointments, hurts, sorrows, losses, our bereavements, our wickedness, evil, and our sin; yet being so full of compassion and mercy he offers salvation in Jesus.

GOD'S LOVE REVEALED
He fully expresses himself in sending Jesus, who was full of compassion for the suffering, gracious to the sorrowful sinners, patient with the foolish disciples, and was truly in the flesh for he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6, NIV.

LOVE
God is love and he wants us to know Him through His love for us.  He gives us a free will and it entails the freedom to reject him and choose to believe a falsehood about ourselves, the world, and him. To receive his love is to receive Him and his heaven. Everything outside God's love is darkness and loneliness. Choose his love, choose Jesus.

If you want to know more about choosing God's love for your life follow this link: click here for my other blog.

(c) Adron 4/26/12

What is the Greatest Love? John 15:13

Where can you find love that is true? 

We all want a love that is true, honest, devoted; a love that we can count on and that won't turn away as soon as things get tough.

"Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13, NIV.

Looking for the greatest love.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Jesus spoke these words to his disciples shortly before he was arrested and crucified.  He was fully aware of the coming events; betrayal by one of his own, desertion by his closest companions, false accusations by his community, torture, and death by tortures.  Yet with full knowledge, he proceeds on to that fate and this statement explains why- love.

GREATER
To say something is greater is to deem it above all else.  When you bring "greater" into the thought you have made all others as lesser.  This greater love is above all the others.

JESUS
When Jesus expresses love it is in actions, and he demonstrates the greatest love by doing the greatest act, laying down his life for us, thus Jesus became the definition of that greatest love.

LAY DOWN
He died willingly to pay for our sins.  This ultimate sacrifice leaves nothing out for there is nothing left to do.  Mankind had a need for a savior, one who would deliver us from our sins because our sins needed to be paid for, and the only payment accepted by the God Who Is All Holy is death and eternal punishment.  Jesus paid this price for all sins.

Jesus "lay down" his life, it wasn't taken from him by force.  He chose to lay it down and he had control over every aspect of his death.  He had the choice of free will in the matter, and he chose to die because he chose to love.

ULTIMATE LOVE
To lay down your life for a loved one is one thing, and many over history have died for their family, but to do so for a friend is something else.  Who Jesus died for makes his sacrificial death more astounding because he died for sinners who were his enemies. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

FRIENDS
Jesus called his followers friends even though he knew they would fail him miserably in his hour of need.  This greatest of all love is a forgiving love, an understanding love, a compassionate love, and most importantly a sacrificing love.  It is not a distant love; Jesus offers this love to any who is willing to receive it.  He said, "Come unto me ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

(c) Adron 4/21/12

How Does the Bible Define Love? 1 John 4:10

Love is the thing everyone wants and everyone chases after it. Poets have written about it and singers have sung about it. It only adds to the confusion about what it is and how to find it.

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10. NIV.

LOVE
The Bible does more to show what love is than tell what love is. One might find a few spectacular passages that are quoted by evangelist and read at weddings but the greater part of the subject is wrapped up in the accounts of God showing love to sinners through His actions.

UNLOVELY
To say that we did not love God is a supreme understatement for we were enemies of God.  We oppose God by virtue of our own rebellious nature and sinful bent against his love.  Even the best we could offer pales compared to the evidence of our lives making us forever unworthy of his love.

In spite of our animosity to God and our offense against his holiness, God still has an amazing love for mankind.  It is not like He came around after a while, or decided after our rebellion was spent and we were broken that then He would love us, or at least pity us; it is even while we are in the camp of the evil and wicked that He maintains love to us.

God did not wait for us to initiate a loving relationship with Him, nor did He wait for us to become worthy of His love. He loves us first.

LOVE IN ACTION
His love does not overlook our greatest need and that is the need for a savior.  Because of our sins we face the same judgment reserved for the devil and his followers.  In his great love, God takes our place in the person of His own incarnate son and dies in our stead on the cross where he takes the wrath of the Father's judgment against sin.  Here we see a statement that words could never form; the act of the sacrifice of the holy and beautiful for the vile and profane.

WHY
God's love is not based on beauty or merit status or charm.  God loves because He is the one who is good and merciful.  It is based on the character of the one giving the love and is not dependent on the nature of the one receiving the benefits of love.

No matter what kind of sinner you are God loves you and sent Jesus to die to pay for your sins. That is love.

To learn more about what the bible says about God plan of salvation follow this link: Jesus and Salvation.

(c) Adron Dozat 3/28/12

How To Pray For A Friend Ephesians 3:19

The apostle Paul gives us many examples of prayer, and in one makes some beautiful requests for his friends- beautiful but not shallow.

"And to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:19, NIV.

IT IS THE BEST
You can pray many things for a person, but the best is that they know the love that comes from God: forgiving, patient, sacrificial, fatherly, kind, and more than we can contemplate here.

This love surpasses knowledge; it is big beyond the limits of our capacity to contain it. If you sum up all of your knowledge, it would not approach the volumes yet to know about God's love. Yet it must be knowable, or else the apostle would not pray that the Christians would experience that love.

Ephesians 3:18

KNOW
"Know" has many meanings. There is "to know," as with your mind, the intellectual knowledge of learning and study. We should all strive to learn about God, read His Word, and learn from others what they know about God. "Know" can be used as the knowledge of experience, the intimate knowledge that comes from a relationship with God. If all you know about God's love is from books, you will have shallow knowledge. If all you know about God's love is from experience, it will be sentimental and immature. The knowing of God's love must have a balance of both learning from His revelation to us and learning from his relationship with us.

GOD'S LOVE
Some do not know God's love. They have not come to God through the loving work of his Son, Jesus, on their behalf when he died for their sins on the cross. In rejecting the ultimate expression of love, they reject the ultimate love in their lives.

Even those of us who have come to God and have a relationship with him are far from understanding the depths of his love for us.  We need God to show us and teach us the dimensions of his love.  We need to make it a priority and a goal to know his love, experience it, and share it.

As we pray for our friends, we should earnestly pray that they come to know God's love more deeply and personally. If we do not know God's love ourselves, we need to pray and ask God that we may know it.

(c)Adron Dozat 11/21/11

I Have Engraved You in The Palms of My Hands. Isaiah 49:18

We question God's love and we ask, "Where is the evidence of Divine Love?"

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:18.

NOT ACCIDENTAL
The great love God demonstrated for us through his Son is eternally written in the scars on his hands. We can see in our mind's eye Jesus holding out his hands saying, "See, I have engraved you..." We normally get scars by accident but God says, "I have..." this was not by accident. The scars that Our Lord bears on His hands were predetermined. He knew He would endure the cross and bear its memory the moment He created the first man- and still He made Adam. He did this engraving Himself. I have..." It didn't just happen, like the poor martyr, but He received those scars on purpose. The events of the Crucifixion of His Son were carefully designed before all creation by our Loving Father.

DESIGN
The word "Engraved" sounds like there was skillful craft involved; skillful craftwork demonstrated in the love the Savior has for us. Most people's scars are the result of some painful event, usually an accident; and seeing them are reminders of what each event was. Jesus chose to bear the reminders of His love for us through all eternity and we will see the engraving in His hands.

DEVOTED
He is devoted to our care and protection. The city walls were its protection, status, and strength. For God to say, "Your walls are ever before me." is to say He is standing guard on the walls. He is our protection, status, and strength.

"Ever" not just sometimes or only at a certain time but ever, always, and not ending. Perhaps here we see a hint of eternity, we need not fear some destruction in this life or next. For those of us who have taken Jesus' hand by faith and accepted his death on our behalf are assured of His protection and guard for the "Ever," of eternity.

SEE
The first word of this verse may be the most important, "See,"God invites me to look upon Him, to see Him, and know Him. We must set our eyes on Jesus; we must look at Him and see who He really is and what He has done for us.

When we get to heaven and Jesus holds out His hand for us to take, we will see ourselves engraved there and will think just two words. "For ME!"

To learn more about the God's eternal love and how you can have a personal relationship with him follow THIS LINK

(c) Adron 8/19/10

The Secret Jesus, Mark 7:24. NIV.

Jesus comes into our lives to live there, but when he comes in can we hide him in a closet?

“Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence a secret.” Mark 7:24, NIV.

Jesus was tired after ministering to the multitudes and needed rest. He came to a disciple’s house where he hoped to take a well deserved personal Sabbath. However, he couldn't hide from those looking for Him, and soon the house is a target of people with needs and problems.

If you trust Jesus as your Savior some things begin to happen, he will come in and be felt. He starts work in your life and is committed to it until the very end. You may not notice it but others will. You can’t keep Jesus hidden in a little part of your life and go on like business as usual. His being there is going to draw attention, you can’t be a secret disciple for long. People are hungry for what Jesus offers; love, peace, forgiveness, salvation acceptance with God and community, and if you have Jesus then people are going to see these things in you.

The job of His Spirit is to reveal Him to the world and the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus is in us to those around us. People are going to comment when they recognize that Jesus is living with you. Perhaps they are going to compliment you on a good deed or your changed thoughtful character. When the fruit of the spirit such as love, joy, peace etc, begins to grow they will see it and wonder.

Jesus paid a price to buy salvation for you, so is persecution too great a price for us to pay to have Jesus? Jesus brings peace to our hearts but also puts a sword in the hands of those who hate him. Following Jesus is risky, he was killed and the mindset of those who hate him is alive today and seeks to hurt Him still. To hide that Jesus has come into our lives is the same as denying Jesus, most devoted Christians consider denying the Lord worst than persecution.

One woman who came to the house where Jesus was staying was marvelously healed of a horrible illness. Could we have robbed others of healing and blessing by trying to hide our Jesus? Have our loved ones been struggling in the dark because we have kept the light of Jesus hidden?


Since he can’t or won’t be hidden let us boldly proclaim him.

(c) Adron 4/18/10