Ep.886: Is it Love?
Learning to live God's love in our lives
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CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: 1 John 4:16
God is love! We as Christians love to bask in the magnitude of that statement as it gives us comfort and confidence that our faith is in a Being that possesses understanding, compassion and wisdom. God is love – that statement just makes us feel good! So was that the reason John wrote it - to make us feel good? Or did he write it to help us not only unlock the depths of God’s character but to also unlock the potential depths of our own characters? This is love (God's love!) as you have never seen it before!
The gifts of the Holy Spirit (like the miraculous ability to prophesy, speak in other languages within having studied that language and having instant knowledge) were temporary. They were to be used as tools to spread the Gospel and would become obsolete after fulfilling their purpose. But godly love, the Apostle Paul tells us, never fails, quits or gets old...it is everlasting! 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love is the greater than faith and hope. Why is love the greatest? Faith is something we have towards God, hope is something we have from God, but love is something we have that IS God! It ties the others together.
There's a lot to learn about what love is and what it is NOT. As lights in the world, we want to make sure we focus on God's love and why it is so special.
Hi Rick and Jonathan! This is Tracy from South Bend, Indiana, a town that’s overshadowed by Notre Dame. I came across your podcast on Spotify a while ago. I married my ex and moved to the U.S. about 12 years ago. After 8 years of painful marriage, I finally divorced my ex about 4 years ago. Shortly after my divorce, I started going out with my then-coworker, a super nice non-practicing Catholic guy. He was very good to me all these years and helped my son and I battle many of the struggles I had from the divorce. However, about a year ago, I started having doubts about whether I should be with this man anyone: he was never explicit about getting married, he’s not a Christian, and I felt ashamed of the relationship. The weight of guilt was so heavy that I started losing sleep. Finally, last Friday, after listening to the podcast about Elijah’s courage, “Courage is walking toward something that you want to run away; courage is walking away from something you are drawn to”, I broke up with Josh. I loved him and still do, but I knew that our relationship wasn’t leading to marriage and I could no longer knowingly live in a life that displeases God. Now, not only I am suffering the regular emotions that people suffer after they end a long term relationship, but also some unique ones. Being a divorced woman with a kid in my late 30s, insisting staying chaste before marriage sounds like a super potent can of man-repellent that I don’t think I will ever meet anyone. Also, my only family here is my son and he spends around 45% of the time at his dad’s. I don’t know how I can deal with holidays while everyone seems to be with family. Again, I appreciate your programs. I have learned so much from you. May Lord bless your ministry abundantly so that many more can grow closer to God by listening to you show.
We are really touched by your email and sympathize with your experiences. They are really difficult! We will direct message you shortly. Thank you for being a listener and we are glad you have received a blessing from the podcasts. – Christian Questions