Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Time To Grow Up

God's blessings and benefits should motivate us to live for him.


1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

1 Timothy 4:8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

In chapter one Peter wrote about the new life in Christ that the church in Asia Minor had, he told them of all of the benefits that they inherited as a Christ follower. Peter wrote about the blessings, the ability to go through trials with joy, about Christ payment for their sin and about the way that Christ showed us how to really love.

Chapter two starts out by suggesting that because of all of the those blessings and benefits that we have received we should be motivated to grow up and the internal change in our lives should make a difference to our external. People should see a difference in us, instead of "deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech," they should see people that exercise self-control and are striving to be holy through being obedient to God. (1 Peter 1:13-15)
Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
As a new Christ follower you are probably well aware of how much you have failed to live up to God's standard. it isn't easy to change your lifestyle, it will take training to get rid of the behavior that is unpleasing to God. A new born babe needs the basic milk of God's word to get them started in growing up to be the person that God wants them to be.
Job 23:12 I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.
The desire for the Word of God is a very effective indicator of a person’s spiritual condition. The Bible has been the best selling book for a long time but it is also the least read book. We need to have a passion for God's word and take delight in learning about him and his desires for our lives. A new babe in Christ will have the same instinct to take in the "pure spiritual milk" that a new born infant has to nurse on his mothers milk.

Too many of God's children get stuck in the habit of showing up at church and having the Bible read and explained to them. It's a great place to start but that's not the only time each week that you should get fed. We need to be digging deeper into the word for ourselves and meditating on it in personal quiet time and in small group Bible study.

I need to be in in Bible study and personal quiet time in order to grow up in Christ. God expects us to move out of the milk years and move on to eating meat, being lazy about your spiritual development isn't a good idea, it is a dangerous condition that Satan will try and take advantage of.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Peace On Earth

It is my job to bring peace to my piece of the world.


Matthew 5:9  God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

Philippians 4:4-7  Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again, rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Can there really be peace on earth? When Jesus birth was announced the angel told us about "peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased" but is that really going to happen? (Luke 2:14)

The first step to having peace is to improve our relationship with God, he has given us plenty of proof that he is our friend and that we don't have to be afraid of him, God stepped down from heaven and made it possible. We can look forward to the day that we meet him face to face without fear of judgement for our failures.

Now that we have peace with God he expects us to live in peace with each other. Our lifestyle should be noticed by everyone for the difference in our attitude and in the way that we treat each other. We should have a lifestyle of joy and we should be considerate of everyone. If you remember all of the effort that God went through to make peace with you then you should be willing to work for peace as well.

As you walk this earth remember your destiny and do your best not to worry about anything while you wait for Christ return. The cares of this world will drag you down and rob you of your peace but Jesus told us that we don't have to live with fear for our physical needs.

Live in harmony with each other.
Romans 12:14-18 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.  15  Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.  16  Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!

17  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  18  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

If somebody does us wrong it is so easy to want to curse them but Paul told the church in Rome that we should say something but instead of a curse we should give them a blessing. There isn't any room for being selfish and thinking about yourself and telling somebody off.

Peaceful living:


  • Without revenge - Matthew 5:38-42
  • Loving your enemies - Matthew 5:43-45
  • Overlooking faults - Matthew 7:1-5
  • Slow to anger - James 1:19
  • Without jealousy - James 3:14-16 

Remember that God set the standard for reaching out and making peace, he went a lot farther to make peace with us than we are willing to go with each other.

I need to have compassion for my fellow man and show love and make peace in my piece of this world.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Peace With God

There is only one way to have a peaceful, friendly relationship with God.


Romans 1:17  This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."

Romans 5:1-2  Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

At some point in life you will probably become aware of the fact that there is a higher power that created our world. The complexity of creation makes it clear that an "accident" of this magnitude is completely impossible.

The first thing that religion usually tries to do for you is to attempt to make you a better person. Many of them will attempt to take care of your moral failures but none of them can really give you lasting peace in this world and the assurance of peace for all of eternity.

Despite all of man's efforts to make things right the only way to have peace with God is to be seen by God through the filter of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Work as much as you possibly can but the only reason that we have this opportunity is because of Jesus, he has done the only work that needed to be done for your salvation, none of our work is going to improve the relationship between us and God.

The only way to get rid of that load is through faith in the work that Jesus did. Our faith has done the impossible for us, God's glory is going to be revealed someday, that doesn't have to be a scary thought, we can anxiously wait with confidence and joy for that day to come without fear.

Does God call you "friend?"

Romans 5:9-11  And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation.  10  For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.  11  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
God declares that we are condemned to die, the only payment for sin is by the shedding of blood, Jesus came to be the sacrificial lamb. Have you ever considered that when Adam and Eve sinned an animal or two died so that they could have clothes?

Do you have this "wonderful new relationship with God?" Are you on friendly terms with God? Imagine knowing your creator and how awesome and perfect he is and not have any fear about your mistakes and failures.
Isaiah 26:3-4  You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!  Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.
God has done everything necessary to prove his love to us and to give us a life of peace and purpose. There isn't another teaching or philosophy that can give you peace for this life as well as for eternity.

Through faith in the blood sacrifice that Jesus made for me I am no longer an enemy and I am no longer condemned because of my past. Thank you Jesus!

Friday, January 18, 2013

When God Is Late

There isn't anything that God can't do, so why isn't he doing something?


John 11:1-6   A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days.

An urgent message comes to Jesus from his friends Mary and Martha. Their brother, whom Jesus loves, is deathly ill and they are pretty sure that Jesus will want to help him out but Jesus has a bigger plan than they could have known about.

Instead of rushing off to perform a miracle in person Jesus tells his disciples that there is a reason that Lazarus is suffering, he allows Lazarus to endure the pain and misery that led to his death, and not just Lazarus, his sisters would take care of him until be breathed his last breathe and they would deal with the emotions of losing their brother. Jesus tells his disciples that this family is suffering for God's glory and then he stays right where he is.
John 11:12-15 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
A lot of people were not happy with Jesus and his choices, the disciples didn't like the idea that Jesus finally wanted to go to Bethany because not too long ago a crowd wanted to stone him, Mary and Martha blamed Jesus for the emotional distress of caring for their dying brother, the sorrow of seeing him die and having a funeral.

Sometimes we aren't very pleased with God or sometimes the way that he is working in our lives makes no sense to us. It seems that our request get ignored just like the messengers that were sent to tell Jesus about Lazarus.
John 11:40-44 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside.

Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
What we need to realize is that it's not all about us but rather it is all about God, like Mary and Martha, we will say, "God, if you loved me, you would do this." But God says, "I want to do something bigger." Jesus may have sounded insensitive when he said that he was glad that he wasn't there to help but Jesus had a bigger and better plan; he was probably thinking , "wait until you see this."

The reason for the delay? The reason for the prayer before the miracle? Both of them were for us so that we would see God's glory.

We are heirs of God's glory!

Romans 8:17-18  And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.  18  Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.  
We can't see the big picture from our point of view. The waiting didn't make any sense to Abraham as he was waiting for a son, it didn't make sense to God's children as they waited for Pharaoh to give in, and it didn't make any sense to them as they circled Jericho for a week before they attacked.

God's delays prove to be for our benefit, they help to increase our faith, they change our perspective towards heaven and they allow us to see God at work in a bigger way.
Psalms 121:2-4  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!  He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

1 Peter 5:6-7  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.  Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
God has proven himself to be faithful and when he can't see him at work or we don't have a clue what he is doing we know that we have every reason to trust him and his promises.

Inspired by an Andy Stanley podcast: When God, Part Three - When God Is Late

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

When God Doesn't Cooperate

You may want that thorn to go away but it may be something that God wants to use.


2 Corinthians 12:7-10 So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness."

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  10  That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Apostle Paul has been wrestling with God about an unknown physical problem that was making his ministry difficult to do. He prayed for this difficulty to be removed so that he could do God's work with greater ease, what could be more noble than asking God to get something painful out of the way so that you could do more work for him?

One of the most used men of the Bible, wrote most of the New Testament, traveled great distances, saw Jesus in a vision, healed others, this guy was a big deal by human standards yet he couldn't heal himself. You would probably be tempted to tell God about all of the wonderful work that you have done for him and how much more useful you could be without this thorn, but we can't call in favors with God, with all of the good things that Paul did for the kingdom, he still didn't get the results that he wanted.
"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness."
Instead of a cure Paul received a message from God, he was told that the thorn wasn't going away, instead of a healing Paul would have to rely on God's grace and power. God tells us that his unmerited favor and love and his power is more than enough to keep us going. At least Paul got an answer to his prayers many people have prayed for relief for many years without hearing from God, his lack of cooperation may make you wonder if he knows about you or you may wonder if he even exist, it is nice to hear from God but we know from the Bible that many people have waited on God for a long time.

Go to God to find grace

Hebrews 4:15-16  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.  16  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Our Savior experienced what it is to be human, he experienced pain to the extreme, he knows what our weaknesses can do to us emotionally. Our High Priest invites us to come to God without any shame and experience God's mercy and grace.

We don't always know what is best for us and we don't always need to get what we ask God for. You have permission to ask but remember that God has permission to say no. We are to go boldly to our Savior with our request but we better not expect to always get what we want.
"So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ can work through me."
We like to see God's power in our lives but we like for it to be manifest in our strengths. We like to see Christians at the top of their game giving glory to God while they are in the spotlight but sometimes God chooses to get glory in our weakness instead of in our talents and skills. We don't get to decide, it was God's decision to use Paul's weakness so that God would be glorified, and it was Paul's decision whether he would be at peace and let God work any way that he chose to use him.
2 Thessalonians 3:16  Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
Paul may have missed some ministry opportunities or some church meetings and it probably didn't make any sense to him why God would allow a hindrance to the work that he was called to do but he knew that God was in control and that he can be trusted in every situation.

The most impressive Christians that you know are probably the ones that kept on going through difficult times. When your weakness and pain get in the way of doing more for God and Satan tries to tell you that you are not useful for the kingdom, remember that God is working through you. If you can be at peace with God and allow him to be glorified in your weakness then you are being used for his purpose.

Inspired by an Andy Stanley podcast:  When God, Part Two - When God Is Uncooperative

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

When God Is Inattentive

Your difficulties are not proof that God doesn't like you.


Matthew 11:2-6, 11 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,  "Are You the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen--  the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of Me. '"

11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist

John the Baptist has questions, things are not going very well for him as he sits in prison, the same man that gave such a definite, bold proclamation about Jesus identity is now having doubts. John told us about Jesus and he told us about the awesome things that Jesus was going to do but a lot of those things have not happened yet and now John is struggling. (Matthew 3:10-12, John 1:19-35)

John's struggles were just like any of us would have. He probably couldn't understand why his own cousin who is so powerful didn't bust him out of jail. He probably wondered my the Messiah wasn't exerting political power or why the predictions of judgement from Matthew 3 were not coming true.

John the Baptist was a great man that the people loved, Jesus loved him and said that he was a great man but he was in jail because Herod and his wife Herodias, didn't like him. Herodias was the daughter-in-law of Herod the Great, twice: once by marriage to his son, Herod II, and again by marriage to another son, Herod Antipas. John was in jail because he stood up for the truth and spoke out against this marriage.

Jesus response wasn't full of hope for John, he told the messengers to go and tell John what they have seen and what they have heard, he didn't say hang in there and I will get you out soon. John wasn't feeling the love while he sat there in prison while his cousin Jesus was helping strangers and seemingly was ignoring him. Jesus last words to the messengers that were returning to John may sound really peculiar, he gives them this message to tell John:
"And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of Me. '"
That doesn't sound like words of encouragement to bless a man that has his doubts. Jesus seems to be telling John that he knows about John's circumstances but he is choosing not to change them. Jesus seems to be saying that God will allow things to come into our lives that will be difficult and they could cause us to stumble but we should keep the faith.

Sometimes it looks like God isn't working in our lives, our circumstances begin to impact our confidence in God, we doubt that he loves us or if he cares about us. Our pain begins to distort reality and we think that God isn't paying attention.

Life will be hard.

John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
It is important to remember that your circumstances do not coincide with how God feels about you, the proof of that is at the cross, our knowledge of God's infinite love needs to be recalled when the doubts come our way. We went out of his way to prove his love to you and to provide a way for you to spent eternity with him.

We need to be encouraged to remember when God did show himself to be real, we need to remember what we have "heard and seen" about Jesus in the past. We need help to see past our prison walls and remember the goodness of God, the fellowship of the family of God is supposed to help you out, don't neglect this powerful resource.

This broken sinful world will have it's share of difficulties but we know the one that has overcome the world so that we can have peace to keep on going without turning away from the faith.

Inspired by an Andy Stanley Podcast: When God, Part 1 - When God Is Inattentive

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Got A Light? Don't Hide It.

The children of light should never cover it up.


Matthew 5:14-16  "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  15  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  16  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Luke 11:36  If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.

In this familiar passage of scripture in Matthew, Jesus has just finished talking about the lifestyle of his followers in the verses that we call The Beatitudes.

We usually separate The Beatitudes from the following verses about being salt and light and don't put the two concepts together but I think that shining our light has some prerequisites.
Beatitudes - A list of the godly attitudes that mark a true believer and insure true happiness.
-John MacArthur
Living for him with the attitudes and character that please him will make you a bright light in this dark world, if you are not doing that then there won't be any light, you will look like everybody else that is living in the dark. But if you are living the beatitudes lifestyle you will stand out.

You are going to be strange in a world that seeks happiness in favorable circumstances and pleasant emotions, the world tells us to look out for ourselves but God's expectations are different, he taught that happiness is found in living for him and when we live for him we will be a shining light in this dark world.
John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
You have the potential to be the light, as a child of God you already have the light in you but you have a choice whether you will let it shine out for everyone else to see. Are you going to put a lamp shade or even worse a blanket over it so that it doesn't help anybody else?
1 Peter 2:9  But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. 
The light of good deeds are for God's glory, don't put the light on yourself so that you will get the credit, the world needs the real source of light and what it can do in their lives. If we live like his chosen people and have the beatitude attitude then we will want our light to shine on Jesus instead of ourselves so that they can see his love and kindness. That's what this dark world needs.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Resolution #4 - Resolve To Forgive

Forgive as much as you have been forgiven, now that's a lot of forgiveness.


Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 

Luke 6:36-37  You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37 "Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven.

We love to keep score, I'm not talking about an athletic event, I am referring to the history of good and bad things that we do to each other. It is tempting to try to keep the score in balance, if you think that somebody has been a bit worse to you than you have been to them, then it is time to do something to even up the score.

Jesus set the bar really high when he told us "forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you" Now that is a lot of forgiveness that we have to pass on to the ones that have wronged us. It is easy to think that we need to even up the score but we do not have permission to be unforgiving or even bitter or to even say something to get at them, instead of permission to settle the score we have a command to forgive just as much as we have been forgiven by our creator.
Micah 7:18 Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.
Jesus didn't demand that people treat him special so none of us are so special that we can demand to be treated special or demand that we get our own way. I must strive to be just as compassionate as God is, Jesus didn't come to earth to condemn it, rather he came to show us a better way to live, in a loving relationship with our creator and with our fellow man.

Help us Lord to exercise the same forgiveness that you gave to us. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Resolution #3 - Read My Bible Each Day

He'll keep the light on for you.


Psalm 119:1-6 Happy are people of integrity, who follow the law of the LORD. 2 Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts. 3 They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.

4 You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. 5 Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your principles! 6 Then I will not be disgraced when I compare my life with your commands.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

Digging the word each day is the best way to keep the straight and narrow road lit up so that we do not stumble. It would be crazy to walk through the deep forest that we encounter in life without a flashlight to keep us on the trail, God has given us the light that we need in his word.

You don't have to be a scholar and it doesn't require a lot of effort or study, just a few moments with God's word, listening to him as he guides our steps for another day. What it does require is a determination to do it each day, after all the devil is going to hit you with everything that he can find so that you will put it off for another day.
When the Word of God changes our lives and makes us more like Jesus, that's when we realize what the real purpose of life is, what true joy is, and what it means for God to change the world through us.
-Rick Warren 
When you first start it may not be pleasant but eventually the time you spend with God in his word each day will become the highlight of your day. A great way to start the habit and get past the devil's plan to discourage you is to use the "40 Days In The Word", subscribe to a devotional email, use a paper Bible or download free software it doesn't really matter, just do it!

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Resolution #2 - Say I Love You

Three simple words that are so powerful.


Love Loud

1 Corinthians 13:1-3  If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.

The libraries of the world are full of books about love, you would think that we would be better at it, we should have figured out by now who the expert is on the subject and would have learned to be much better at it.

Some of the books on love are about people that are in love, some of them try and define what love is and some of them try and teach us how to do it but there isn't any book that measures up to the Bible, it has everything that those books have and so much more.

The Bible is the greatest love story every written


The Bible tells us the story of God pursuing his love, from cover to cover the Bible tells us about the greatest love story ever, God loves his creation and he is especially crazy in love for mankind. God has been in pursuit of man since the Garden of Eden, he has always desired a relationship with us, he is reaching out to us patiently and waiting for us to respond.

God has really gone to the extreme to have a relationship with us, he did everything to make it possible by providing salvation through the death of his son, the sacrifice for our sins.
Exodus 15:13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home."


The Bible gives me the real definition of love


The world needs a good working definition of love, you can look at the books that are written or you can search the internet or you could watch the media for the definition of love in society today but you won't get much help.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 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.
One of the most famous passages of scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, it is an extended definition of real love, quoted by so many people and put into practice by so few.

The Bible tells me how to love


Not only does the Bible tell me about love but it also gives me an awesome example, Jesus told us that we have to love loud and crazy just like he did, he is the perfect example. Jesus lived out that definition of love from 1 Corinthians13:4-7 and he tells his followers that they need to do the same.
John 13:34 "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

1 Peter 1:22 Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts.
Three little words is all that it takes to make somebodies day, it is so simple, just say them to somebody today and everyday. There are all kinds of ways to say it and it show it, tell them in person or write it down and if saying it is too hard then find a way to show it through a random act of kindness.

This world that is so full of hurt and so confused about love needs Christ followers to live a life that is screaming loud with love, after all if I am that full of love then somebody is going to ask me how I can be that way then I can tell them about the creator of love. Remember that Jesus said that they would know us by our love.

Thank you Jesus for your perfect love, you gave the perfect example of love while you were here on earth, help me to love loud.