LOVE

Do We Really Love God?

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , ,

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8

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“But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:3

How do you behave toward those you love?

If you are in a committed relationship, how do you act with your other half?

Are you truly in love with them or are you only using them until something better comes along?

Relationships are messy. We spend most of the time living them out in our minds. How well our thoughts match reality though may be a problem.

We may whisper I love you to the other person. But deep inside it only means I want something from you. Instead of thinking of ways to support the other person in their life adventures, we placate them. We are nice to them in exchange for what we want. We see this within the immature. I love you only means until I lose the feeling. Or I love you until you stop giving me what I want. The basis of I love you is ME.

In my early walk with God, I behaved the same way. I wanted a relationship with HIM because I needed HIS help to live my dreams. The basis of my love was centered around me. I may have stated in my head “I love you Lord,” but my heart was directed around ME. Like the mature parent, Papa God knew. HE continued to walk with me through life’s challenges. HE patiently showed me the difference between HIS love and my self-centered forgery.

I often state that my love for my wife didn’t really begin until some twenty-years into our marriage. That is when I quit seeking what she could do for me. Instead of living life thinking our relationship was a 50/50 split, I repented. That is when I started giving 100% of myself for her without expecting anything in return. Now over forty-years into our relationship, it has somewhat become a game between each of us. Who can out give the other without expecting anything in return?

What does all this have to do with loving God?

How do you know whether you love God for being God and not what is in it for you? Tough question. We are all human and fall short of measuring up in the mirror of Jesus. But our actions do show how well we are maturing. As we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our heart after our heavenly Papa’s desires, our actions follow.

Is it possible to hate your brother and love God? Not what the Bible states in 1 John 4:20. Is it possible to repeatedly desire breaking God’s commandments and love HIM? Not according to 1 John 5:3.

Can you deny Jesus’ claims after reviewing the evidence, and say you are in love of God? John 5:42 indicates otherwise.

When you love someone, you are willing to sacrifice your life for the other. You are open to serve and surrender your will for their sake. You do so without expecting anything in return. You do so because Papa God’s love resides in you. And you have learned over time that this love cannot stay silent in you any longer. It always needs to be expressed in the life of others. That includes Father-Son-Spirit. The love of our life.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book and Audio Formats Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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Fear and Love

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , , ,

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 (English Standard Version)

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We ourselves are eye-witnesses able and willing to testify to the fact that the Father did send the Son to save the world. Everyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God lives in him, and he lives in God. So we have come to know and trust the love God has for us. God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when he shall judge all men—for we realize that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. 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. 1 John 4:16b-18 (J.P. Phillips NT)

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If we really love God, we will not be afraid of him. We cannot love him completely and also be afraid. We would only be afraid of God if we thought that he would punish us. So, if someone is afraid that God will punish them, it shows that they do not completely know God’s love. 1 John 4:18 (Easy English Bible)

Knowing Jesus means more love and confidence, less and less fear.

I borrowed this line from the J.B. Phillips New Testament. It is brief, but to the point. When God’s love lives in you through the presence of Papa God, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit, fear is displaced. You do not deny your fear. Instead, your trust is in God’s love which assures you that HE will lead you.

Life is a training process preparing one for eternity with Jesus. One of the attributes of God we learn is love. We learn love by practicing ways to express HIS love with others. We may begin slowly and awkwardly. But we learn. As we extend our hand to help someone, love’s seeds are cast. If we are rejected, God’s grace covers us through the pain. The more we practice ways to love others, the better we grow.

You may have to walk through the fear. You may turn and run away from it. You may laugh at it. Whatever God inspires you to do, you have learned to faithfully trust HIM.

If unsure where to begin, we start with Jesus. We find ways to love HIM. Initially, we discover all the ways HE shows his love to us. Then we seek out ways to express our love to HIM.

From there, we begin to practice with those closes to us, our family. As our ability to find ways to sacrifice and support them grows, we keep expanding our reach. We have friends, business associates, and neighbors to add unto our list. And the list never ends.

As we meet strangers in the grocery store or mall, we find ways to show love to them. It may be as simple as a smile or opening a door.

Small steps. Easy gestures. Simple words. It doesn’t have to be a big moment. Just expressing small tidbits of ways to let others know you care for them. That they are appreciated.

If you are a person who is dealing with fear in your life, make Love your pathway through it. It begins by developing a deeper relationship with Jesus. Then allowing Jesus’s love be expressed through you. So let HIM be the center of your exodus. HE will lead you through your fears. In the process, your love tank will grow and dump the fears away.    

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book Format Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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Fall in Love

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , , ,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 22:36-39

The other day around the table we were discussing our favorite disciplines. For those unaware, disciplines are the practices we use to keep our mind and heart focused on God. They are a means of grace to help yield us to the working of the Holy Spirit in our life.

The majority of replies were similar. Prayer, Bible study, and fellowship were the dominate themes discussed. But, one person mentioned a discipline that brought a huge smile to my face. His was to learn how to better love God and others.

The essence and purpose of love as a discipline came to life. Did not Jesus teach us the same on the night before his death? Did HE not state that we are to learn to love one another the same way HE loved them? Did HE not show us what love looked like by serving those around HIM? Did HE not sacrifice HIS life for humanity?

To fall in love with Jesus is the best place to be. To practice and model HIS love before others is also a good place to be. To submit to others. To serve others. To sacrifice for others. Are not these the means of grace we are to practice each day?

If you are looking for a discipline to practice that will make the largest difference in your life, this is the one. To fall in love with Jesus. To share HIM and HIS ways with others. Not necessarily with words, but with quiet action. Find ways to support those around you. To uplift those near you. To help those around you find their place under the Son.

Remember in your youth when you became infatuated with that one special person? You would sit in class stealing glances at them all day long. You would fantasize being with them. You would look for excuses to be near them. They were the center of your life. Though they probably didn’t know you existed, Jesus is the opposite. HE already knows you. He wants you to get to know HIM. HE wants to spend time with you. HE desires what is best for you. HE wants to share HIS life with you as you share your life with HIM.

But HE is waiting for you to invite HIM into your life. HE has already made the first move. Now HE is waiting for you to capture the vision of how life can be with HIM.

Yes, if you want one discipline to practice each day, focus on ways to love Jesus and others. Not for selfish purposes; but for what you can bring to the party for the sake of the other. One simple way to start is find ways to support Jesus. The other is to support those closes to you. When you help those around you, you are also serving Jesus. Practice the way of sacrificial love and you will discover the essence of life. For life becomes a love adventure as you fall in love with HIM.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book Format Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message! | Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved