We can take a lesson from the church at Corinth. Because of strife and division, Paul had to write to them, “When I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life” (1 Corinthians 3:1).
Notice the phrase “given him a name.” The Amplified Bible says “the” Name or “His” Name. That leads us to Ephesians 3:14-15.
There is a difference between being attracted to someone and being in love. Feelings are fickle. One day you can be whistling a happy tune and pleased as punch with your significant other, then the next day they annoy you when they chomp their food at the table.
That’s why knowing whether you are in love is less important than knowing if you are spending time with the person God has chosen for you. This is a critical enough decision that it warrants prayer, fasting and listening for His still, small voice. He wants to help you with this important relationship!
The Old Testament writers had a word for the way God loves us—hesed. It is translated as “ever lovingkindness; tenderness; mercy.” Hesed is the force that rises inside someone, causing them to stand up for the benefit of another. Another way of saying it is that it’s the picture of having a Blood Brother. From God’s perspective, it might best be described using John 3:16: “For God so ‘hesed’ the world, that he gave his only Son....”
Unity is vital to marriage, whether deciding on church attendance or any other important issue. God loves you and your spouse deeply, and His main desire is that you walk in unity with one another. Sometimes it may seem difficult to gain common ground on certain issues, but by the power of God you can both walk in unity if you will put your trust in Him.
You can pray the prayer of intercession. Briefly defined, intercession is prayer made in behalf of another person or persons who have brought judgment upon themselves for wrongdoing. The Scriptures teach us that sin provokes God, and because of His just and righteous nature, sin calls for judgment (James 1:15; Romans 6:23). But God has no pleasure in judgment; instead He delights in mercy (Micah 7:18).
The Bible teaches parents to discipline their children in love. It also teaches that spanking can be done with the love of God, and when applied in that love, it is indeed an essential component of God’s system of discipline (Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:12-14, 29:15-17).
God does not desire that any believer be filled with fear—even when it comes to meeting Him:
“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:16-18).
Living in a home filled with the love and the peace of God Himself is almost like living in heaven right here on earth. We all know that's true. And we long to live in such a home. Yet, time and time again, we shortchange our families. We spend our kindest words and our most winning smiles on those beyond our front door.
Have you ever wondered why?
Christmas is a very important time of year. It's a time of year when the whole world is hearing the message of the birth of Jesus. It's a time when people are tenderhearted...the perfect time to plant seeds of love in the lives of those you meet.
Sometimes those seeds may just take the form of a kind word in the middle of rush-hour shopping. Other times, you may get the opportunity to pray and minister to someone. But whatever the situation, keep a sharp eye out for even the smallest chance to assist people.
Fear of failure. It's haunted all of us at some time in our lives. Popular psychology tells us to adjust to it. But the Word of God tells us that there is a failure-proof way to live without it. It is the way of love.
If you want to know real success, you must learn to be moved and motivated by love. That's how Jesus was when He was on the earth.
One thing the world needs to see is good examples. They need to see believers walk in love and purity and faith in their homes, in their schools and in their businesses.
What do you do when you're facing a particularly stubborn problem? A problem that resists your every effort to solve it?
Put the power of love to work on it! The power of love is the greatest power in the universe. It's beyond defeat. It never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).
The Bible says God is love. So when you release love into a situation, you have released God into it. Think about that! When you start releasing love into a situation, Jesus becomes responsible for its success.
What is this love I'm talking about?
I used to wonder why we believers didn't see more of the power of God operating among us than we do. With what we know about faith and the Word, it seemed to me signs and wonders and miracles should be happening all the time.
So, one day I asked, "Lord, why isn't the power of God turned up to a higher volume in the Church?"
Do you know what He said? He told me we weren't walking in enough love yet.
We often think of "laying down your life" for someone else in terms of dying. That's what Jesus did. He loved us so much He laid down His life by dying in our place so that we could live.
But now, He's asked us to lay down our lives in a different way. He's asked us to show our love, not by dying for others, but by living for them.
Exactly what does that mean?
Love never fails. Nothing works without it, and there can be no failure with it. When you live by love, you cannot fail.
It takes faith to believe that love's way will not fail. The natural mind cannot understand that because the natural man and his world are ruled by selfishness.
But when you practice love by faith and refuse to seek your own, you put the Father into action on your behalf. As long as you stay in love, God the Father seeks your own. He sees to it that you succeed. Walking in love is to your great advantage!
Do you know why the Word of God and the orders God gives to you in your spirit are not burdensome or oppressive? Because everything He tells you is for your good and for your victory!
God knows what it takes to live in victory in this present evil world. In fact, He’s the only One who knows. The people of this world cannot tell you how to live victoriously. They don’t know how. But God does! He can make things work, even in the middle of darkness, and if we’ll follow His instructions, commands and precepts from His Word, we can, too!
There is one thing you can do that will accelerate your spiritual growth more than almost any other thing: Learn to take correction—from the Spirit of God and from His people.
So few believers seem to be able to do that. When their preacher gets in the pulpit and preaches about something they already know, about some aspect of life they’ve already submitted to the Lord, they think he’s great. They like him because he makes them feel good. But the moment he stands up and begins to preach about something they’re doing wrong, they take offense.
So many believers think of the fruit of the spirit as little more than a passive list of pleasant qualities that can help improve their personalities. But it’s far greater than that! It’s pure spiritual power.
Love is so powerful, the scripture says, that it never fails. Patience is so powerful it cannot be stopped. No matter what the circumstances, it will not quit. Temperance is so powerful it can master all the unruly desires of your flesh.
Someone’s done you wrong! Sooner or later it happens to all of us. Somewhere along the way, we all get hurt or cheated or lied to or abused.
It’s as predictable as it is painful. Yet when it happens most of us find ourselves strangely unprepared. In our outrage, we often cry out to God against the one who wronged us. We ask for justice, or even vengeance, and end up making things tougher on everyone involved—including ourselves.
If that’s been true of you, it’s time you found out how you can put the power of God to work for you the next time someone does you wrong.