Yes, He loves you! (1)
1 Corinthians 11:17;
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
Paul was talking to the church in Corinth, and he rebuked them because they don’t get better when they come together. This shows the essence of church gatherings – to get better spiritually. We come to church to be better. One of the things we’d learn to get better spiritually is ‘how to respond to God’s love knowing that he loves you’.
Knowing God’s character affects our worship, how we pray, and how we teach. Those who think God is an angry God will always be angry, “You look like the God you serve”. The God we serve is the one who was on the cross and at the same time was praying for forgiveness for the people who put him there. Our knowledge of God’s character will ultimately affect what we call our worship. Thus, in discussing God’s love, we are right on track and at the very centre of his will.
Matthew 22:34-40;
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
What Jesus is telling us is that if we look at the Old Testament altogether, and we want to summarize it in two sentences, we will see love the Lord and love your neighbour. In loving God, we have to explore his character. One thing we know is that God is not double-faced;
Hebrews 13:8;
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
In knowing who God truly is, we (believers) will know who we truly are because we were created in his image. God is not mysterious; he wants to be known; so seek to know God in Christ.
Daily Bible Reading Plan:
Bible Reading – Ezekiel 29-32
TEACHING OF THE DAY
Responding to the move of the Spirit (1)