The Bible clearly says that God is love, but what that means needs to be rightly understood. Because God is love, but love is not God. Love is not all that God is. Rather, God defines what love is. Instead of us deciding what love is. If you start with what people think love is, rather than what God says love is, you’ll wind up with an ungodly idea of love that will sacrifice truth in the name of tolerance. And it will value humanity more than God.
People want to excuse all sorts of ungodly behavior by saying that “love is love.” But love is not someone allowing you to do what you want to do; love is someone helping you to do what you should do. And God’s loving grace is not a license to do what you want to do; it’s the liberty to do what God wants you to do. And that’s how you love God.
The presence of God isn’t about feeling God in your physical senses, it’s about knowing God in your spirit. And the Bible describes it as a love beyond knowledge (Ephesians 3:19), a joy inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Peter...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
I’m sure you’ve heard that if you want to be a winner, you’ve got to separate from the losers. You’ll have to disassociate with the less affluent, educated, successful, or influential. You have to hang with your own crowd....[ abbreviated | read entire ]
A lot of people are haunted by guilty feelings. Even when you do good now, it doesn’t erase the bad you did then. But people say Jesus will pay for your sins. But you still did the bad stuff. And you still feel guilty. And no legitimate...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
1 Peter 4:1-2 says – Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
How you relate to others is a direct reflection of how you relate to God. Jesus said – This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. The Apostle Paul said – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Luke 6:21, Jesus said – as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. That’s the Golden Rule. You honor God by honoring people. But sometimes people turn the Golden Rule into a golden weapon, against God, and against...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
People are made in God’s image. Yet your lips can bless God, while also cursing those made in God’s image. James 3:9 says no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
If you want to be sure that you’re heading in the right direction, ask yourself three questions… Am I moving in the fear of God? In other words, if God was standing next to you, would he approve of what you want to do? If you...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
What do you do in those moments of temptation, when sin feels like it is satisfaction, like it’s what you need? Here is what you need to do… sing praise and thanksgiving to God. I am talking about singing out loud. Here it is, again:...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
There’s a reason why you’re just a moment away from exploding. A reason why you think isolation is a good answer. A reason why you think something else is the problem. There’s a reason why you're so easily frustrated, so quickly...[ abbreviated | read entire ]