There are many types of love... Here are five God highlighted to me. He showed them through scripture in a distinct order. Here they are as He showed me. #1) LOVE THE LORD ...This is the first commandment. "You will love the Lord with all your heart with all your soul and with all your might." (Deut 6:5). Since it is the first, it is very important. #2) LOVE THE NEIGHBOR... "You will love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18.) This is also very obviously important as this is alo a commandment. #3) LOVE THE FOREIGNER... "The foreigner that is living with you will be to you as a citzen among you; and you will love him as yourself; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yaweh your God."(Lev 19:18) This commandment deals with us on a racial discrimination and ethnic pride level... There are no excuses. We are to love ALL people no matter their background...or yours! #4) LOVE YOUR ENEMY...This commandment Jesus pushed to the extreme. We are to love all people, even those hate us and are our enemies... "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who falsely accuse you, and persecute you." (Matt 5:44). This calls us to a divine kind of love that surpasses selfishness. We don't trust our enemies.(John 2:24-25) We show God's love in the hope that grace can change their hearts...and change our hearts as well! #5) GOD LOVES YOU...These love commandents are impossible on our own. They point us to a need for a deeper level of love, a greater source of love. That is God's love! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."( John 3:16). As we read 1 John 4 we find we are able to love because God loves us...(1 John 4;7)...We would not have even known what love is had Jesus not demonstrated it perfectly for us...(1 John 4:9) It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us...(1 John 4:10) It is He who loved us first, and then we afterward...(1 John 4:19)...So, here are five loves...#1) He commands us to love Him, as He is our maker...#2) Since we love Him, we are to love all the rest of His children...#3) This love includes those of backgrounds different from us...#4) This love even includes those who treat us badly...#5) Love is only possible because God loved us first and gave us the ability to love others!!! Therefore, since God's primary character trait is love, when we love others, we become MORE like Him...Amen!
Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering , and abounding in goodness and truth... In this verse IS the disposition of Messiah. The early church used this important verse to judge prophecy and conduct in the church atmosphere. There were three elders who were in charge of hearing and deciding if what was said and done in that time was in the disposition of Messiah. In this very shaky and explosive time we are living in (exciting & wonderful time I might add) it would serve us well if we would write this verse on the tablet of our heart and in every circumstance, situation we find ourselves apply it rightly and justly. By doing this, we, as the body of Christ, will start looking like the "church" the public has never seen!!!
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