Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful, loving, caring, and responsible fathers out there! I pray you enjoyed the day and were acknowledged and appreciated.
Dr. Bill Winston continued his series, "The Power of Love" with the subtitle, "Climbing Without Compromise" and a new additional focus on "Perfect Love".
God made us in his image and his likeness. Have you ever heard someone say, "That child is the spitting image of their father"? Of course you have. And if the child doesn't resemble the father at all, the old folks would say, "there must be a dead cat on the line". LOL! It's funny, but it's true. We should resemble our father. 1 John 4:16 says, "God is love." (KJV) Logically, if God is love and he created us we were made by love. Love is not a fuzzy feeling. Love is a lifestyle. When we understand fully the love God has for us we will be able to share that love with the world.
1 John 4:18 from the Phillips Translations says, "Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected." Did you get that? Fully developed love contains no fear! There are so many things happening in the world to cause us to fear. But the Word of God is encouraging us, and commanding us to love and assuring us "Perfect", mature love dispels fear.
How can I get this love? So glad you asked! Romans 5:5 says, "And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love." (Voice) Isn't that incredible! God tells you to love, then gives you His love to love with! All you have to do is cooperate with the Holy Spirit! When someone mistreats you and you want to retaliate, the Holy Spirit reminds you..."Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord." Romans 12:19 (New Living Translation) When your money is shorter than your month and you are tempted to worry and fret, the Holy Spirit encourages you..."And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (New Living Translation) When the doctor tells you there is nothing that can be done to help you, the Holy Spirit assures you..."He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies." Psalm 103:3-4 (NLT)
One last thing that always amazes me, Revelation 21:8 lists the people who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. It says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (KJV) OUCH! The fearful? What's so bad about being afraid? Good question! Being afraid that your enemy will not get what's coming to him will cause you to be angry. That anger can cause you to sin. Being afraid that you will never meet Mr. or Mrs. Right could cause you to settle for Mr. or Mrs. Right Now. This could be devastating to your purpose and your future. Being afraid that God's Word is not true could cause you to neglect it, devalue it, and ignore it. This will lead you to trust in yourself, your education, or your money..."He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch." Proverbs 11:28 (KJV)..."He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Proverbs 28:26 (KJV)..."Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Jeremiah 17:5 (KJV)
Working on perfecting my love walk...love and prayers, Cynthia
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