LOVE

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

The Power of Sacrificial Love

Dr. Mike 2026 , , ,

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

The act of sacrificing is as old as time. History records how people offered sacrifices to their gods. Yes, even before the first pages of the Bible were ever written. The Bible though helps clarify the intentions and purpose of sacrifices.

We have the initial story in Genesis of Cain and Abel both offering a sacrifice to God. God accepted Abel’s but not Cain’s. Later Abraham was ready to offer his son Isaac as an offering to the Lord. Later grandson Jacob offered a sacrifice to God. The people of that period found it natural to offer sacrifices in appeasing their gods. They realized there was a world beyond them. They thus practiced their religious rituals in an act to find favor with the gods. They believed these gods influenced world events and their lives. This was the custom of the times.

When you look at every culture in history, they had their gods to appease. What the Lord of the old covenant introduces is the fact there is only one god worth worshiping – Jehovah. So in a culture of sacrificial practices to many gods, HE introduces HIMSELF. HE starts with Abraham and his family lineage. With Moses, HE reinforces HIS position as the only God worth serving. The sacrificial rituals continue, but are aimed at the ONE God. The practices remain until the arrival of Jesus.

Jesus, God in flesh, clarified the meaning of the sacrificial practice. HE, and later the apostles would emphasize the reason behind the sacrifices. The purpose wasn’t to appease God, but to learn the importance of living a life of sacrificial love. All the rituals pointed toward Jesus.   

Jesus demonstrated the power of sacrificial love throughout HIS life. From birth through his last breath, HE packaged this way of life to live under HIS Father’s Kingdom. The Triune God’s way of life is built on sacrificial love.

The Father sacrificed HIS Son for the redemption of humanity. The Son willingly and in HIS own admission sacrificed HIS life for you and me. All this so we may join them in the eternal circle of Father-Son-Spirit. Sacrificing oneself for another is the way of God.

Real love is sacrificial. This is the love that is God-ordained. We witness its impact throughout history and in the lives of those closes to us. We see this from the love of a parent for their child. We read about the actions of an army buddy throwing their body on top of an exploding grenade. Love is about what’s best for the other person, not you.

If you want to know the depth of your love, ask yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice all for another person. A close family member, most likely. But to a stranger, that is the measurement of one’s heart.

Jesus, before we ever met HIM or heard about HIM, when HE was still a stranger to us, did this for you and me. That is the power of sacrificial love.

That is the love of God we want fully expressed in us and through us for the sake of all those around us. Until then, we walk humbly and gracefully knowing we are still a work in process.  We are very grateful for the love of God being expressed in us and through us for the sake of ourself, others, and HIS Kingdom. HIS earthly life showed us the value of sacrificing for others. It is how love is expressed.

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