Tag: love
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Strength for the Visit – Genesis 48:1-2
Genesis 48:1-2And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. There is something sweet…
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Bound Up Together – Genesis 44:24-31
Genesis 44:24-31 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down:…
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The Test of Another Man’s Blessing – Genesis 43:34
Genesis 43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs… And they drank, and were merry with him. Joseph gave Benjamin five times more than the rest. That was not random. I think Joseph was watching them. Years earlier, when…
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Genesis 29:19-20
And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and those…
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Love, Desire, and the Beginning of God’s Deeper Work – Genesis 29:16-18
Genesis 29:16-18 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. The Bible just tells it…
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Loved Because He Loves – Genesis 25:27-28
Genesis 25:27, 28And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Now the boys begin to grow, and the difference between them becomes even clearer.…
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Love Has to Be Chosen – Genesis 2:16-17
Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it… for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. I like the way this begins…
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Love Must Be Chosen – Revelation 20:7-8
Revelation 20:7-8 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth… Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. This is…
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Love That Will Not Leave You Alone – Revelation 3:19
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. This is one of the most tender verses in the whole letter to Laodicea. After all the exposing words, after calling them lukewarm and blind and poor and naked, Jesus now tells them why He is speaking so sharply.…
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Love That Reaches Out – Revelation 3:13
Revelation 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. That is how the letter to Philadelphia closes. But it is more than a closing line. It is a call. Jesus is saying, If you are listening, really listening, then hear what the Spirit is saying to all…
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The Answer Was Waiting in the Promise – Revelation 2:7
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Jesus closes His word to Ephesus with an invitation and a promise. He is…
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When the Fire Starts to Fade – Revelation 2:5
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. There is something tender and searching in that verse. Jesus does not speak to Ephesus like a cold inspector…
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A Heart Too Full for Paper – 3 John 13-14
3 John 13, 14 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. John closes this little letter the…
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The Team That Must Stay Together – 2 John 5-6
2 John 5-6 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should…
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Love That Refuses to Lie – 2 John 1:1-3
2 John 1:1-3 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father,…
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Love That Does Not Feel Heavy – 1 John 5:3
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. John keeps things wonderfully plain. If I love God, I will keep His commandments. That is not complicated. Love is not merely what I feel when the music is right and the mood is warm.…
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Loving the Father Means Loving His Family – 1 John 5:2
1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. John keeps tightening the connection. You cannot separate love for God from love for God’s people. They travel together. If I really love the Father, that love is going to move outward toward His…
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The Love That Starts It All – 1 John 4:19-21
1 John 4:19-21 We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he…
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Where Fear Loses Its Voice – 1 John 4:18
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. John gives us one of the most liberating statements in all of Scripture. There is no fear in love. Not little fear. Not reduced fear. No fear. Why? Because perfect…
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Boldness Born of Love – 1 John 4:16-17
1 John 4:16, 17 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we…
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When Love Starts Showing – 1 John 4:12-13
1 John 4:12, 13 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. John says something very simple, and very searching.…
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he Mercy We Must Pass On – 1 John 4:11
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. John makes it beautifully simple. If God has loved us like this, then love cannot stop with us. It must move through us. That is where this gets very practical, saints. It is one thing to sing about grace, talk…
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The Fire That Warms or Burns – 1 John 4:7-8
1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. After warning us about false spirits and deceptive voices, John now shifts the focus back to something central.…
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Love That Knows the Difference – 1 John 4:1
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. John now moves into the theme of perfect love. In chapter 3 he has spoken of love in its purity and love in its practicality. Here in chapter…
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The One Work That Matters – 1 John 3:23
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. John brings everything down to its simplest form. After all the discussion about commandments and obedience, he tells us what God ultimately requires. It comes down…
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A Free Heart Before God – 1 John 3:21-22
1 John 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. John now shows what happens when the heart is at rest before God. When the heart is…
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Love With Shoes On – 1 John 3:17-18
1 John 3:17-18 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. John brings love down out of…
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The Kind of Love That Dies – 1 John 3:16
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. John tells us that this is how love is recognized. Not by slogans. Not by sentiment. Not by saying the right things at the right moment.…
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Deadly Words or Living Love – 1 John 3:15
1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. John does not soften his words here. He says plainly that hatred toward a brother is the moral equivalent of murder. That sounds severe until we remember what Jesus Himself taught. In Matthew 5:21–22,…
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Love in a Hostile World – 1 John 3:13-14
1 John 3:13, 14 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. John says something here that is both bracing and freeing. Do not marvel if the world hates you. Do…
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Love Does Not Smirk – 1 John 3:11-12
1 John 3:11-12 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. John says this is not a new message.…
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Love Makes the Difference – 1 John 3:10
1 John 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. John keeps things very plain. He says there is a visible difference between the children of God and the children of the devil.…
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Loved Into the Family – 1 John 3:1
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. John is opening a fresh section here. In the first two chapters, he has been talking about walking in the light…
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Fresh Light, Old Truth – 1 John 2:8-11
1 John 2:8-11 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth…
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Love Brought to Maturity – 1 John 2:5
1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. John keeps bringing us back to something wonderfully simple. The evidence that a person is truly in Christ is not that he never struggles, never stumbles, or never feels his…
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Love at the Top – 2 Peter 1:7
2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. Peter now brings us near the summit of the staircase he has been building. He has talked about faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, patience, and godliness. Now he says that godliness must be joined to brotherly kindness. That matters more than we might…
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Freed to Serve – 1 Peter 4:8-11
1 Peter 4:8-11 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.Use hospitality one to another without grudging.As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.If any man speak, let him speak…
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One Family, One Seed – 1 Peter 1:23-25
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the…
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Love in the Pressure – 1 Peter 1:21-22
1 Peter 1:21-22 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another…
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That Is Not Your Job – James 4:12
James 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? James brings us back to a truth that can straighten out a whole life in just a moment: there is one lawgiver. One. Not me. Not you. Not the loudest voice in the room. Not…
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Love Does Not Talk That Way – James 4:11
James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. James brings this down where we live. After talking…
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Love Does Not Bow to Status – James 2:5–9
James 2:5–9 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?Do not they blaspheme that worthy…
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The Love That Never Changes – Hebrews 13:8
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. This little verse stands like a rock in the middle of the chapter. Everything around it moves through real life—loving the saints, welcoming strangers, caring for the hurting, honoring marriage, learning contentment, walking in submission. And right here, underneath it all, is…
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Feeling Their Chains – Hebrews 13:3
Hebrews 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Brotherly love does more than speak kindly. It feels deeply. The writer tells believers to remember those who are in bonds—as though we were chained beside them. In the early church…
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Hospitality Without Knowing – Hebrews 13:2
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Brotherly love does not stay inside the circle of familiar faces. It reaches outward. It shows itself in the way we treat strangers. The writer says we should not forget to show hospitality, because in doing so some have entertained angels…
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Let It Continue – Hebrews 13:1
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. The writer closes the letter with a simple exhortation: let brotherly love continue. Notice what he does not say. He does not say, “Create brotherly love.” He does not say, “Manufacture it.” The implication is that this love already exists among believers because they share the same life in Christ.…
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God Does Not Forget — Hebrews 6:10
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. There’s a steadying truth in this verse: God does not forget. Notice what the verse highlights. It speaks of work and labour of love. The emphasis…
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Where It Is Supposed to Lead — 1 Timothy 1:5–7
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Paul has just warned Timothy about people drifting into speculation and side trails. Then he slows everything down and says, in effect, here is the point. Love. That is where…
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Not an Enemy — 2 Thessalonians 3:15
2 Thessalonians 3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Paul draws a line, then immediately softens the tone. Yes, there are times to step back. Yes, there are moments when distance is necessary. But even then, do not treat him like an enemy. He is still a brother.…
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Hope Restored – 2 Thessalonians 1:1–3
A year after his first letter, Paul wrote again because confusion had settled in. False teachers were saying the persecution in Thessalonica proved the Tribulation had already begun. Others claimed Spirit-given revelations. There was even a forged letter, supposedly from Paul, insisting the Day of the Lord had started. You can imagine the unrest. If…