– MATTHEW 22:35-40
35 One of them, a lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law], asked Jesus a question, to test Him: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ 40 The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
THE POWER OF LOVE IS IN THE GIVE
12 “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. (SACRIFICE) 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.
– JOHN 15:12-14
1 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and GAVE Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
– EPHESIANS 5:1-2
LOVE IS FELT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FAITH
3 If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have LOVE, it does me no good at all.
– 1 CORINTHIANS 13:3
8 The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]
– 1 JOHN 4:8
16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
– JOHN 3:16
35 Jesus WENT throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].
– MATTHEW 9:35-38
36 When He SAW the crowds, He was MOVED WITH COMPASSION and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
GENEROUS SELF-SACRIFICE OF LOVE UNLOCKS ABUNDANCE
9 “You have loved righteousness [integrity, virtue, uprightness in purpose] and have hated lawlessness [injustice, sin]. Therefore God, Your God, Has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
– HEBREWS 1:9
43 Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be respectfully greeted in the market places.
– LUKE 11:43
9 but just as it is written [in Scripture],“Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”
– 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
THIS WEEK’S ACTIVATION:
THIS IS EXTREME
READ: MATTHEW 22
- THE POWER OF LOVE IS IN THE GIVE
READ: JOHN 15:12-14; EPHESIANS 5:1-2
ASK:
Do you live with a GET or a GIVE perspective on LOVE?
- LOVE IS FELT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FAITH
READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 13:3; JOHN 3:16; MATTHEW 9:35-38;
ASK:
Is your love FAITH or FEELINGS centered?
- GENEROUS SELF-SACRIFICE OF LOVE UNLOCKS ABUNDANCE
READ: HEBREWS 1:9; LUKE 11:43; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
ASK:
Are you experiencing God’s abundant extreme joy of His generous self-sacrificial love in your life?
Are you extending God’s abundant extreme joy of His generous self-sacrificial love in your life?
PRAY:
Jesus, thank you for loving me first despite my flaws and failures. Forgive me for making love about feelings and missing the true joy of love on the other side of faith. Show me where you have poured your generous self-sacrificial love over my life and where I can extend the same love.
Amen!