“Ponderings from the Pastor”
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Welcome to the month of February, also known as the month of LOVE. While the legend of Saint Valentine, is just that… a LEGEND, the God’s agape love is the most central theme in the Bible. Throughout this month I will be sending out daily reminders of just some of the 540+ times that love is written about in God’s Holy Word, not the least of which is found in these verses from I John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
But what does “God IS love” really mean? Love is the preeminent aspect of God; it is the very core of His Holy being. Everything God does is done out of love for His creation. Even when He disciplines His children or His creation, God does so out of love. We need only look to the Apostle Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13:4-8, to be able to grasp the fullness of our Heavenly Father’s love - “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”. This is God’s description of what love is, because “God IS love!” This passage could just as easily read-“GOD is patient, GOD is kind. GOD does not envy; GOD does not boast…” etc.
Unfortunately, our culture has redefined and watered down the true meaning of love so much, that it has become more of a “buzz word”, than a definition of the Almighty. Nowadays we “love” everything from our family to our favorite foods. We “love” our cars, our homes, and our material goods, instead of loving our God, our neighbors, or our enemies, as God’s Holy Commandments teach. Just one more example of how “upside down” our world is.
But, there is one thing that will never be upside down… there is one assurance that we as children of a truly loving Father need never fear… never doubt. God loves us today just as we are with our frailties and our imperfections. He loves us when we’re “good”, and even when we are NOT so “good”. Yes, he chastises and disciplines us when we need it, but God has promised that He will “never leave us nor forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5) With all of this in mind, I have selected one of my favorite “Love Verses” to be our Life Verse for February is one that you should all know and lean on daily. From the Gospel According to John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
In Christian Love,
Pastor Bill
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Welcome to the month of February, also known as the month of LOVE. While the legend of Saint Valentine, is just that… a LEGEND, the God’s agape love is the most central theme in the Bible. Throughout this month I will be sending out daily reminders of just some of the 540+ times that love is written about in God’s Holy Word, not the least of which is found in these verses from I John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
But what does “God IS love” really mean? Love is the preeminent aspect of God; it is the very core of His Holy being. Everything God does is done out of love for His creation. Even when He disciplines His children or His creation, God does so out of love. We need only look to the Apostle Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13:4-8, to be able to grasp the fullness of our Heavenly Father’s love - “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”. This is God’s description of what love is, because “God IS love!” This passage could just as easily read-“GOD is patient, GOD is kind. GOD does not envy; GOD does not boast…” etc.
Unfortunately, our culture has redefined and watered down the true meaning of love so much, that it has become more of a “buzz word”, than a definition of the Almighty. Nowadays we “love” everything from our family to our favorite foods. We “love” our cars, our homes, and our material goods, instead of loving our God, our neighbors, or our enemies, as God’s Holy Commandments teach. Just one more example of how “upside down” our world is.
But, there is one thing that will never be upside down… there is one assurance that we as children of a truly loving Father need never fear… never doubt. God loves us today just as we are with our frailties and our imperfections. He loves us when we’re “good”, and even when we are NOT so “good”. Yes, he chastises and disciplines us when we need it, but God has promised that He will “never leave us nor forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5) With all of this in mind, I have selected one of my favorite “Love Verses” to be our Life Verse for February is one that you should all know and lean on daily. From the Gospel According to John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
In Christian Love,
Pastor Bill
