Good day beautiful people
I hope that today’s post meets you well? Let us not forget the reason for Christ’s coming into the world He created. It was because of His great love for us as John 3:16 specifies! I believe that all scripture can be summed up by the fact that God loves! All scripture points to the truth that God loves us so much that He was willing to die in our place so that we may enjoy the precious gift of salvation (the promise of eternal life). Thank God that we can enjoy fellowship with Him and as believers we know that Christ will return back to earth in victory.
Titus 2:13 ~ “while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”
Matthew 16:27 ~ “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”
I know that several people view Christmas as a pagan festivity, and for many it’s a season which brings them the opportunity to get tipsy, have a good night out or get a few extra days off work, but ultimately there is no Christmas without Christ. I know that it’s meaning has been perverted over the years, but I want to reinforce the fact that GOD LOVES THE WORLD (YOU).
John 3:16 ~ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
We live in a time where many people care only about themselves. Some individuals are even willing to harm others to get what they want but we know that Christ teaches us to love our neighbour as ourselves. As Christians, it’s very important for us to remember that even though we live in this world, we are not of this world. We are not to imitate the practices of the ungodly. We are called to look out for those who are marginalised by the system. This means we should have a heart for the poor, widows, orphans and the voiceless. Unfortunately Christmas has become so commercialised. It is a time of the year where millions of pounds are spent on gifts which a lot of the time go unused or are forgotten about half way through the new year. It’s all about me, myself and I. It’s about what I can get instead of celebrating the amazing life, death and resurrection of the Saviour of the world, whose name is Jesus.
1 John 3:16 ~ “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
James 1:27 ~ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Now I’m sure that most Christians are familiar with the Bible verse, 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, which tells us what godly love should look like. I’m sure many of us have read that specific chapter in the Bible more than once yet we still struggle to love like Christ. This could be because we have not truly digested, the words in 1 Corinthians 13. Using myself as an example, I did not truly understand that true love does not demand its own way until spending time meditating on that verse over and over again, it finally hit me that I cannot always have my own way within a family setting. It’s so important that we take turns, for example, when it comes to selecting a TV series or movie for the family to watch or when it comes to selecting a specific activity for the family to engage in on a family night. Or even when it comes to selecting a restaurant to eat at. These choices may seem very insignificant but let me tell you that it’s the small decisions that can potentially cause the biggest arguments within a family home, leading to conflict.
1 Corinthians 13:5 ~ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
^^^(To be honest I think maybe I missed the few words ‘does not demand its own way’, I think my main focus was on the fact that love is not rude).
How often do many of us tend to bring up the past mistakes which our loved ones make?… We may not intend to do so but when we sincerely reflect on our actions we become aware that we have developed a critical attitude and frequently highlight previous offensives made against us. This practice is extremely unhealthy and goes against God’s teaching which tells us that love keeps no record of wrong. God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, so we should follow suit and forgive others too. I truly thank God that he doesn’t bring up our past mistakes. It’s difficult to give up bad habits but with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to do things the right way and we can learn to love according to how God desires for us to love others. And I am not writing this post to condemn those that read it, but rather to encourage us all because this is something that I am learning to do. I am in the process of learning to love according to God’s standards. I am not perfect, but I know that with the help of the Holy Spirit I will be daily transformed by the renewing of my mind so that in all I do I will bring glory to God Almighty.
Relationships provide individuals with the opportunity to learn. I truly believe that life in itself teaches us so much, only if we have hearts and minds that are willing to learn from all the situations that we encounter whether good or bad. Recently I’ve come to understand that one actually has to learn to love. Loving God’s way does not come naturally. I’ll be honest forgiving someone who greatly hurts and offends you
doesn’t come naturally to most people, if not all. It literally takes the grace of God and the Holy Spirit at work within the life of a believer to forgive someone who hurts them deeply. One has to learn to be patient one has to learn to put others needs before their own as a act of kindness, one has to learn to sacrifice their life for the growth and development and nurturing of another human being. It is all about learning and at this current point in time I feel like I’m in school. And the course that I’m currently undertaking, is called love.
Don’t forget that true love involves sacrifice, for example Christ giving up His life so that we may be forgiven and so that we may have eternal life.
Well, I hope that you enjoy today’s post. I do feel that I need to do a follow up on this topic called love. I feel that in this post I’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg. I think it will be nice to create a miniseries on the different elements listed in the book of 1 Corinthians 13, regarding how to love the godly way. Until next time, stay safe. God bless.
Love from
Christian Lady After God’s Own Heart 💜
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ~ “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love.”
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about The truth about Christmas..
