My heart is heavy today! I watch everyone preparing for the Christmas Holiday coming up next week, yet I just can't rest in my spirit. As I search and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say, I heard this sentence, " the lost life of love."
Last year I was blessed to be invited to pray for a tent meeting revival in Milliken Colorado. My friend who is a Pastor invited me to come with a group of intercessors to pray for the meetings. He wanted to get all the churches in the area together to pray for the meetings. He sent out word through the area, and unfortunately not one Pastor showed up for the prayer times.
I wondered why we were there. The Lord said to me, " He is your friend isn't he, just pray for him and the meetings." We did joyfully and God moved in a mighty way in these meetings. Much was birthed there with great persecution with it, but it was a start of something new for them and for all of us.
At the request of several people there, we were asked to come and teach more on prayer. So we held an impromptu conference on prayer and without any advertising people from the whole area started to come. I could spend an hour telling you about it, but the "present word of God" that came out of this conference was "What does love look like?'
That conference changed me in such a profound way even until this day. Even though I was one of the main speakers, I was just an instrument to the MAIN SPEAKER, the HOLY SPIRIT! In this wonderful time of fellowship with the Lord, He asked over and over, what does love look like?
A year and half later, as I travel this country and Mexico and look at the world and the condition of the church, I still hear, What does love look like? In another week, everyone will focus on the birth of Christ and yes that is part of what looks like. In a few more months we will celebrate Easter and that will be part of what looks like. But, do you beloved reader know personally what LOVE really looks like?
1Jn 4:8 He who has no love has no knowledge of God, because God is love. 1Jn 4:9 And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 1Jn 4:10 And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins. 1Jn 4:11 My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another. 1Jn 4:12 No man has ever seen God: if we have love for one another, God is in us and his love is made complete in us:
I tried to address some of this in the last blog, but I hopefully am provoking all of us to go deeper into what love really is? God is love! What a powerful verse of scripture.
God is love? What does love look like? As you ponder on 1 John 4:8-9 I want you to notice it says, HE THAT HAS NO LOVE HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE. AND THE LOVE OF GOD WAS MADE CLEAR TO US... SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE THROUGH HIM!
He that has no love has no knowledge of God! Humm! Why? Because God is love! And love has been made clear to us: made visible to us, so we might have life through him, Jesus Christ. Ponder on that thought for a moment?
The bible tells us in 1Jn 4:17 In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in this world. 1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love: true love has no room for fear, because where fear is, there is pain; and he who is not free from fear is not complete in love. 1Jn 4:19 We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.
We love, because He first loved us. I call this the "first love principle." I think I am going to write a book about this later. But the word for today is "the lost life of love!" Where is that abiding love of God in us beloved?
We read we have the power of loving, because he first loved us in verse 19? But why does the words of the Apostle James ring to clear for the church here in the USA:
Jas 4:1 Whence come wars and whence come fighting’s among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. Jas 4:4 Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Jas 4:5 Or think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? Jas 4:6 But he gives more grace. Wherefore the scripture says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Jas 4:7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.
What happened to the lost life of the love of God in us, that proves we are His true disciples by the love we have one for another? In verse 4 from above it says, "Whoever would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." He describes what being a friend to the world is in verses 1-3.
Jas 4:1 What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies?
Jas 4:2 You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.
Jas 4:3 You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.
We so desire to fit into the world and it's system so very much. We want the world to like us, understand us, accept us, and to often even as leaders we want to do things the way the world does it. We want to use marketing surveys to build the church. We want to find out what the people want, what the people like. We want our churches to be user friendly instead of Holy Spirit friendly. Sadly, we all have done it even without realizing it.
I don't believe we do this intentionally or to be destructive to the Gospel, though some might. I believe out of ignorance of really understanding WHO love is and what God (love) looks like causes us to look to the world for the picture of what God is or worse what our "idea of God is." This is the very issue Jesus has to deal with the woman at the well. She had an "idea of God" by where is the right place to worship God.
In the book of John chapter 4, Jesus is speaking with the woman at the well. The whole conversations comes down to her asking one question of Jesus. The question He had longed to answer. She asks this question. We Samaritans worship in the mountains and you Jews in Jerusalem, where is the RIGHT PLACE TO WORSHIP? This question begs an answer for our statement today, The lost life of love. You see, she said we worship God in the mountains. That is where we look for love. You Jews worship in Jerusalem, the place you look for love. Which one is it?
Jesus answers her, about where she could find what love looks like, and where true life is. Beloved reader, He already told her, that He had living water, or water of life to give her. He already told her the water he brings will spring up into everlasting life in her. Remember our scriptures. God is love, and He first loved us that we might have live through Him! Eternal life,is eternal love? Perfect love cast out all fear!
Love is not found by going to a place to worship, it is found by BECOMING A PLACE OF WORSHIP! "KNOW YE NOT, YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD!
Jesus tells her the truth, listen! John 4:21 Jesus said to her, Woman, take my word for this; the time is coming when you will not give worship to the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. John 4:22 You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews. John 4:23 But the time is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshippers will give worship to the Father in the true way of the spirit, for these are the worshippers desired by the Father. John 4:24 God is Spirit: then let his worshippers give him worship in the true way of the spirit. (spirit and truth!)
God is a Spirit, A person, someone who we can intimately know. Let his worshippers give him worship in spirit and truth! Notice, He never mentions a place, but a life of what true worship is and the place to experience LOVE, (GOD)! Worship is the expression of love being exchanged! We worship Him, basically because he worships us. Worship mean the Worth Ship of something greater than yourself! God says we are worthy (worth ship) to be loved because He made us. He is worthy (worth shiped) to be loved because He is the love that made us!
Love must be experienced personally. You can find it as you meditate in the word, or prayer, bible study to a degree, but if you want to experience it deeper you can by just hanging out with Him in adoration! Yes, Love is a life! Life is love, because God is love! If you want to know love, than you must continue to hunger and thirst for Him as a lover of your soul! He is more than a place to go to on Sunday.
Truthfully, Church should be a gathering together time, not a place, we come together to love him together, to dwell in that love together. We assemble together to spend time in that love, receive from that love, allow that love to speak and write His laws upon our hearts. We must allow that love to heal, set free, strengthen, encourage, lift us up as we wait upon Him in sweet fellowship. Love must lift us up until we have eagles wings!
Love can then speak tenderly to your heart, teaches, guide, directs instruct, correct, and leads us as Sons and Daughters of God. Yes, love is a life, it is not something we do, it is something we are, when we are in Him! We try to love people and do good things, but often our real temperament is more like what we found in the book of James. Why? We look to what our "idea of God" is, and not taking the time to find God has He really wants to be known.
I pray in the next several blogs, we can discuss this together. Make comments if you like, I will try to respond, but I hope you get the answers directly from God himself. God wants us to know Him. Read John 17:3 God's definition of eternal life, "that you may know Him, the one true God and Jesus Christ that He has sent.' The word know in that context means to know as intimate as a Husband would know His wife in intercourse. That is how close God wants to be with us! This is where we find the "lost life of love." Learning to abide in Him, is the only place we can find what Love really looks like. You won't find in the mountain, nor will you find it in Jerusalem. God is a Spirit, and He must be found in Spirit and Truth.
Press on beloved reader with me. I hardly know Him as He wants to be known, but I press on to this high calling of God with all my heart and I pray you will do the same with all your heart.
Blessings to you until next time.
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