God is love without it we are just clanging symbols making noise!
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
If we walk in love we will not hate others. God loves all of His creation and He wants no one to live without Him. He has given all of us free will to choose Him some it may take longer to accept. His unconditional love is hard to understand for those of us who are used to being judged. Two wrongs never make a right.
2 John 4-6
4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received a commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. The New King James Version
The Spirit of God was on Jesus and His life. In the Spirit He was strengthened as a man to fulfill the will of God for His life. As God He came to rescue those that had been turned aside by the world in general and in believers in Jesus personally.
Luke 4:16-21 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus came and taught in the synagogue to those under the law. He came to His people and they did not recognize Him. He came to fulfill the Law and all the prophesy known about His coming.
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Psalm 2:6
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
We who believe in Jesus should be the most humble and grateful of all people knowing that will be with Him for eternity. Our faith is alive and active in our love for others.
Galatians 5:6 for in Christ Jesus circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Carla
The link between love and keeping the commandments is made also in 1 John 5:2–3. Faithlife Study Bible
Walking in truth means having an authentic relationship with God. Our walk with the Lord if genuine must be based upon His Word. Specifically, our walk with God is based on His commandment to love one another.
God’s love is the basis of His desire for our obedience, and it is the reason He has revealed His will through His commandments in His Word. We prove our obedience to Him by demonstrating love toward one another. Love is an unlimited resource readily available to us, and it is tremendously effective in furthering the work of Christ. The NKJV Study Bible
1 John 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
3 John 3–4 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
1 John 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Psalm 90:2: "Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God" (CSB). Before anything existed, God existed. God's presence with His people was and is everlasting.
This is a truth we can still cling to today: While we may find ourselves straying from God, He never changes (Malachi 3:6). There is nowhere we can go apart from His presence, whether we find ourselves lost in our own spiritual wilderness or even without a physical home (Psalm 139:7-12).
And as New Testament believers, we know Jesus has promised to "prepare a place for [us]" in heaven (John 14:3). While this "place" is certainly a home we can look forward to, we can also take comfort now, during our time on earth, because nothing can separate us from God Himself (Romans 8:38-39; John 10:29).
Our everlasting God is ever-present in our everyday lives. May the promise of His loving presence remind us that our true home is found in Him. First5
There is a part of every single one of us that is eager (yes, hungry) for connection. And we want to open our arms in a welcoming pose.
But let me pause, and talk about another awareness here. For those who have known and lived with abuse, putting one’s arms up is visceral, just for safety.
They are up for protection. Yes. It is our body instinctively saying, “Don’t hurt me.” This, I do understand. At my core.
It’s not easy when someone tells me to put my arms down. So. It is okay to go slowly. Taking stock of our lives, reflecting on what no longer serves, and embracing what is most precious in our lives, beginning to release through a gentle cleansing of our minds and our bodies, saying goodbye to old hurtful stuff. When we embrace this process of self-compassion, think of it as creating a releasing ritual, honoring both our gratitude and our grief.
Our invitation this week: if I do expand my world, open my fields, invite “them” (or any other) into this world, I (and my heart) am exposed to touch.
To connection. To kindness.
To tenderness. To empathy.
To wounds. To love. To untidiness. To healing.
To generosity. To loss. To bounty. And yes, to the unknown. Sabbath Moments
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