By: Pastor Bill
Upcoming Church Scriptures To Read: Matthew 23:1-39 / 1 Kings 15
“You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” Matthew 22:37
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? This is an age old question and the answer, when asked what comes first, is always the same… GOD!
When it comes to love… whether it be in a relationship, a ministry, or even in terms of us loving God Himself… when asked what comes first the answer must be God.
Today, a lot of talk is made about how we, as christians, need to love God more. Statements are thrown out there about how much a person loves God. But, the bible when it comes to LOVE is very clear.
“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. John also says this which helps us understand this more fully… “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love on another” 1 John 4:10-11. Do you want to know what LOVE really looks like?
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illuminated the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.
May God reveal to you today that to God the Father, you are the most expensive and valuable thing in the entire universe and throughout all of eternity. He loved you so much, you are so valuable to Him that He paid the price of His own son Jesus!
By His Spirit,
Pastor Bill