How Much Do You Love God?

Years ago, in a private time of worship and prayer, I blurted out, “Lord, I love you so much!” He then said, “How much do you love me, Jack?” Without hesitation, I said, “With all my heart Lord!” He spoke again, “Jack, that is not enough.” It felt like a punch in the gut, but He immediately brought this scripture to mind.

Mark 12:30 (NKJV) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

I then realized that “loving God with all my heart is only 25% of what this verse commands me to do.” God showed me that I was created to love Him as He loves me. With every fiber of my being.

Honestly, I had to ask the Lord to show me how to love Him with my soul, mind, and strength. If fact, this happened over 25 years ago, and I am still processing this truth.

The chief expression of love is selfless giving (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son”). We must have the courage to ask ourselves; What are we giving our soul, emotions, and mind to? What do we give our strengths, giftings, and talents to? What do we give our time and attention to? What we love and worship can be identified by what we offer most of our time and attention to.

John 15:9-14 (NKJV) “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 

Our experience of God’s nearness or distance doesn’t indicate His actual proximity to us but our level of intimacy with Him. The more we love God, the more intimate we will be with Him. It is often due to a lack of intimacy when we feel distant from God.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

The Smallest World You Will Ever Live In Is The One You are The Center Of.

           If you ask most people what the opposite of Love is the common answer is Hate. However, hate is not the opposite of love, selfishness is.

          Love, The God kind of love, is described in detail in the book of 1st Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails.

          This passage describes SELF-LESS behavior toward others.

          Our original design was to live for others. We were created in the IMAGE of God. That doesn’t just mean 2 arms, 2 legs, a head, and a torso. It means that we were designed to be LIKE HIM. And what is God like? John tells us.

1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

WOW! What a loaded statement! GOD IS LOVE!

          Love isn’t just what God does, it is who He is. It is His nature, His character, His IMAGE. We were created to be like Him, LOVE. Love opens up realms of possibilities and allows us to see things from a higher perspective. The world becomes a bigger place when we are always seeking to help and bless others.

           Love expands our influence and broadens our impact. Love makes room for others, love seeks to be someone’s answer to prayer. Love looks to sacrifice for the benefit of others.

          Selfishness on the other hand seeks its own benefit at the expense of others. Selfishness puts “me” first, closing the door on the blessings of relationship. Selfishness withholds and hides from others. Selfishness cheats and connives to make sure it gets the best, the most, the greatest. Selfishness creates a very small, insignificant world of its own. 

          Selfishness stands alone in a house made of straw, built on a foundation of sand where it can be king of its pathetic little kingdom. It is a sorry existence, and the smallest possible world one could possibly live in.

          When we make Jesus the Lord of our life, the proper response is to lay down our life for Him. That means laying down our life for others just like He did.

          To overcome in this life we must be self-less. We must love people with His love.

Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Revelations 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 

            What’s love got to do with it?  …Everything!

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

Loving God, What Does That Look Like?

        

When was the last time you came to God  just love on Him and be close to Him?

          I have three sons of varying ages who are completely different from one another in their personalities, likes, and interests. Each one is unique and I thank God that, He made them that way. I love each one equally and show no partiality to any one of them. They all know that I love them and I know that they love me. This is an understood fact and we all express that love to each other all the time. We live with an awareness of that love and we are conscious of the fact that the love we have will never change. There comes a time though, as they walk through their day-to-day life that the knowledge of that love is not enough.  They need to experience it.

          They need one on one, face-to-face interaction. They need a loving touch, they need to share thoughts and emotions and spend intimate personal time with me. They need to know that they are special to me and that my love is for them is real. There is a wonderful exchange that takes place in these times. I become sensitive to their needs and desires and reaffirm my love for them. It solidifies our bond and their faith in me as a loving father. It enriches and strengthens the relationship that we have.

          Each of my children likes to experience this love in different ways. As they age and their interest changes, our time together begins to look different also. My 13-year-old likes to go to the gun range and I teach him about shooting techniques, safety and responsibility, preparing him for manhood and the challenges that are ahead of him.

          My 10-year-old likes swimming, nature  and art. We enjoy each others company and I see the joy in his face when we are alone together. I encourage him to develop his gifts and artistic talents. My youngest, the 6-year-old, likes to crawl up in my lap and play silly little games. These games may seem insignificant to some, yet to this child it is one of the most important parts of his day and if we miss that time together he tells me about it. This time together is very important to him … It is also very important to me.

          As believers we need this intimate time with our Father, God. It is not enough to walk through life just knowing about the Love of God, we must experience it. The most important relationship that we have is with our creator. If we invest in this relationship, it pays dividends in all other relationships, making them richer and stronger.

          These times I described with my kids are all very important to me. Your personal time with God is very important to Him too. Is it important to you? As you grow as a Christian these intimate times with God will change and evolve to match your level of maturity and the life lessons that God knows are important to you at the time. No matter where you are in your walk with God, always approach Him as a child. Don’t take for granted that the most amazing thing available to you through Jesus sacrifice is your ability to stand before God like a child with no guilt, condemnation, or shame. Jesus made fellowship and intimacy available through His shed blood. His sacrifice was made so Father – Son relationship could be restored.

Luke 18:17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

          I think we tend to get in rut with our “devotional” time and make it mechanical and impersonal. We come to God with a list of prayer needs and a plan to study, or read a certain amount of scripture and we never connect with Him personally. We go through the motions with a legalistic, works mentality, believing that its the right thing to do in order to be a “good Christian.” The truth is, very little fruit comes from actions like these. This is not relationship, and it does not promote growth and change, instead it perpetuates a legalistic mentality which quenches the grace of God and hinders the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.