God's active Love toward people is Character based. It is based on His own Character. And THAT is what builds trust in Him. And therefore love and trust are what all healthy godly relationships are based upon.
It is endlessly flowing from within Him toward undeserving people. His love is not reactionary, based on what others do for Him. Instead, He initiated salvation and paid the price for all our sins. We simply need to believe on Jesus for salvation. Simply trust in HIS FINISHED WORK. (Believe in God, and believe in Jesus: see John 14:1)Psalm 143:8 (NKJV)
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness (khesed) in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
NOTE here that God's lovingkindness (khesed) is directly linked to TRUST. Trust is built by God's khesed love. God shows the same love to us in the NT with the word agape. He builds our trust. All worthwhile relationships are based on trust.... and trust is built on the khesed Love of God!
Salvation comes when you TRUST in Jesus alone for your salvation, not in work or in good deeds!
Why can we TRUST Him? Because He initiated LOVE for us by coming to earth. God came to earth as a man, Jesus Christ, and died for our sins. He showed love to us in that way, and it allows for TRUST and a RELATIONSHIP to GOD.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness (khesed) in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
NOTE here that God's lovingkindness (khesed) is directly linked to TRUST. Trust is built by God's khesed love. God shows the same love to us in the NT with the word agape. He builds our trust. All worthwhile relationships are based on trust.... and trust is built on the khesed Love of God!
Salvation comes when you TRUST in Jesus alone for your salvation, not in work or in good deeds!
Why can we TRUST Him? Because He initiated LOVE for us by coming to earth. God came to earth as a man, Jesus Christ, and died for our sins. He showed love to us in that way, and it allows for TRUST and a RELATIONSHIP to GOD.
God Loves Because God is Love. We love each other, because we abide in that very same Love.
If we let God's love flow out of us first, before the other acts, we are actually demonstrating the kind of Love God had for us. That is how trust is built in godly relationships.
THIS is the kind of love we should learn how to show others. Jesus teaches us to abide in His Love in the NT. The Law of First mention is a hermeneutical concept that teaches that the way God first uses a word in the Old Testament, is the way He will continue to use that word (or it's Greek equivalent) in the New Testament. So to help us understand God's agape love in the NT, we should start by understanding His love in the OT as described by the Hebrew word khesed.
Watch a short 5 minute video on this from an independent Christian channel on youtube called Bibleproject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfbyFLgs_NM
God's Love/mercy/kindness in the Old Testament is "Khesed" (Strongs H2617). https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2617&t=KJV
His khesed love comes because of Who He is, not what we can offer Him, as the above video explains.
Keep this in mind when we love others, around the time of valentine's day, and at any other time. Love others based on who God is, and who you are IN CHRIST. God's khesed/agape love is our "battery power" - our source for enabling us to love people the way God loves us. We get that love from God only through the Son Jesus Christ. Pastor Rev. Steve Coates also has some great graphics on the Church page explaining the difference between human/romantic love and God's agape Love. (link is here: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1059006371284974&set=g.48711223086 ).
God loved me when I had nothing to give Him. I was born a rotten sinner. But Jesus' blood cleansed me.
All I have to give is the love that He Himself gave me. He gave me Jesus. He gave me salvation. I simply had to believe in Jesus that He paid for my sins in full. Now He abides in my heart and spirit.
Build all your relationships, by abiding in God's eternal and lasting love, as understood by both the OT word khesed and the NT word agape.
Even in dating or marital relationships between two serious Christian disciples, it's not about what the other person can do for you or give you. It's about how you can serve your significant other in the khesed/agape love that God has shown you. You are practicing love by demonstrating His Character-driven everlasting lovingkindness and mercy and goodness. Yes this is a growing process, for me and for everyone. We all make mistakes as humans. But God's forgiveness is part of His khesed Love. He forgives us for our sins when we repent and call on Him for mercy. So we should forgive one another as He forgave us.
THIS is the kind of love we should learn how to show others. Jesus teaches us to abide in His Love in the NT. The Law of First mention is a hermeneutical concept that teaches that the way God first uses a word in the Old Testament, is the way He will continue to use that word (or it's Greek equivalent) in the New Testament. So to help us understand God's agape love in the NT, we should start by understanding His love in the OT as described by the Hebrew word khesed.
Watch a short 5 minute video on this from an independent Christian channel on youtube called Bibleproject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfbyFLgs_NM
God's Love/mercy/kindness in the Old Testament is "Khesed" (Strongs H2617). https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2617&t=KJV
His khesed love comes because of Who He is, not what we can offer Him, as the above video explains.
Keep this in mind when we love others, around the time of valentine's day, and at any other time. Love others based on who God is, and who you are IN CHRIST. God's khesed/agape love is our "battery power" - our source for enabling us to love people the way God loves us. We get that love from God only through the Son Jesus Christ. Pastor Rev. Steve Coates also has some great graphics on the Church page explaining the difference between human/romantic love and God's agape Love. (link is here: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1059006371284974&set=g.48711223086 ).
God loved me when I had nothing to give Him. I was born a rotten sinner. But Jesus' blood cleansed me.
All I have to give is the love that He Himself gave me. He gave me Jesus. He gave me salvation. I simply had to believe in Jesus that He paid for my sins in full. Now He abides in my heart and spirit.
Build all your relationships, by abiding in God's eternal and lasting love, as understood by both the OT word khesed and the NT word agape.
Even in dating or marital relationships between two serious Christian disciples, it's not about what the other person can do for you or give you. It's about how you can serve your significant other in the khesed/agape love that God has shown you. You are practicing love by demonstrating His Character-driven everlasting lovingkindness and mercy and goodness. Yes this is a growing process, for me and for everyone. We all make mistakes as humans. But God's forgiveness is part of His khesed Love. He forgives us for our sins when we repent and call on Him for mercy. So we should forgive one another as He forgave us.
Why do you love your significant other? I suggest we love them not because of what they can do or give, or produce. I urge that we love them because GOD IS LOVE. As we abide DAILY in that love, we too can learn to love, because that is part of our new Creation nature in Christ! That means we extend the khesed love of God to our spouse or romantic interest. It involves loyatly, mercy, kindness, goodness, love.
His love does not depend on how He is treated. He does not hold back until He is treated right. It does not depend on romance or romantic feelings (as nice as those feelings can be!). Romance is external, and temporary. Yet khesed and agape are internal, eternal, and they flow out of your spirit, from Christ in you the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27).
His love came first. And it keeps coming afresh, every day.
It initiates.
It loyally protects.
It gently tends.
It rejoices not in lies, but only in the Truth.
It lasts.
His love does not depend on how He is treated. He does not hold back until He is treated right. It does not depend on romance or romantic feelings (as nice as those feelings can be!). Romance is external, and temporary. Yet khesed and agape are internal, eternal, and they flow out of your spirit, from Christ in you the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27).
His love came first. And it keeps coming afresh, every day.
It initiates.
It loyally protects.
It gently tends.
It rejoices not in lies, but only in the Truth.
It lasts.
It forgives.
It builds trust.
When others do not see any potential, God's love sees it, and provides room for it to grow.
When others do not see you.... GOD'S LOVE sees you, and extends out to you. There is no place where He cannot reach you.
Romans 8:15 (NKJV) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 (NKJV) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
When others do not see any potential, God's love sees it, and provides room for it to grow.
When others do not see you.... GOD'S LOVE sees you, and extends out to you. There is no place where He cannot reach you.
Romans 8:15 (NKJV) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 (NKJV) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
If we can tap into His love in our spirit, and let it flow out to others, we can build TRUST with others in the same way: by taking the initiative to show others the KHESED LOVINGKINDNESS of God!
God bless you!
Pastor Curtis
Pastor Curtis
Thu Feb 4th 2021 4:30am EST
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