Love of Christ

Like-Minded Love

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“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Philippians 2:1-4

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“We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 John 4:19-21

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

Put On Love

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Love is about actions…love is found in our behaviors and how we treat each other.  Words are cheap…love involves sacrifice, it is not a roller coaster emotion that rises and falls on a whim.  Paul describes the actions of love in 1 Corinthians 13…Jesus Christ lived the actions of love in everything He did and continues to do for you and me.  If you are wondering what should I do next…put on love and see where the Lord leads you.  Amen.

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:11-12

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at the Nakalele Blow Hole on the island of Maui)

Start With These…

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Love God.  Love People.  Too often we seek power or control over situations and people. That’s what gets us into trouble.  For some of us we are protecting ourselves because we have been hurt in our past…the longer we proceed carrying around the hurts of the past the longer they will damage our future.  Life is not about what others do to us…it is about how do we choose to respond?  Choose God, choose love…Love God.  Love People.  Amen.

Love God Love People by Danny Gokey

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“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:28-31

(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

 

The Love Of Christ

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This is the foundation of our relationship with Him.  His love for us is the reason He sacrificed Himself to reconcile us with God, even though we are sinners.  Even while He hung on the Cross He pleaded for our forgiveness.  No matter what happens in your life never forget how much Christ loves you.  Amen.

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

Luke 23:34

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“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:16-19

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 near Pike’s Peak in Colorado)

Nobody Like You

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Good morning.  This morning has started as one of those days that I can’t stop hearing the words of a song playing over and over in my mind.  The message in the words is clear…listen to the words of this song.  I believe that God speaks to us in many different ways and it is up to us to listen.  May peace and comfort be with you through the love of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Nobody Loves Me Like You by Chris Tomlin

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“Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.”

Psalm 25:4-5

(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Unfailing Love

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God’s love is everything for us…there is nothing like it and there is nothing on earth that can separate us from it.  Take time to worship and praise Him for His unfailing love.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:7-12

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“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.”

Psalm 143:8

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at the Nakalele Blow Hole on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

He Knows

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Jesus knows what it is like to live life in this world.  He was born as a baby…from the day of His birth until the day He died He experienced almost anything we encounter in our lives.  He knows what it is like for you and me in this world.  He knows we are sinners and that we will make mistakes and poor decisions…yet He sacrificed Himself to save us anyways.  Why?  Because He loves us that much.  Amen.

He Knows by Jeremy Camp

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“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Hebrews 2:18

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

God’s Love

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It is powerful…it has been sent to us in the form of His one and only Son…it can flow through us when we show love to one another…it has stood the test of time and it will endure forever.  Amen.

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“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:9-12

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)