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February 2025

jesus loves me

Happy Valentine's & President's Day! With all the sweeping changes being made by our new U.S.A. President, I'd like to suggest he change St. Valentine's Day of erotic love to St. John's Day of divine love. I know it wouldn't be politically popular, but it's a nice thought since knowing God's love empowers us to be loved and to love. The apostle John wrote:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:7-8, NKJV).

That Loving Feeling . . .

Like The Righteous Brothers were singing in the '60s, I had "lost that loving feeling." 

My generation was singing about a "loving feeling," which reflected a sensual, romantic love between partners from the Greek word eros. It's the erotic kind of love St. Valentine's Day represents mostly for profit these days.

In the '60s, one of my favorite songs was "Love Is All You Need" by the Beatles. As the Fab-4 took off, children around the world were singing along with them, but many of us didn't understand the enormous truth behind the lyrics including the Beatles, since we were singing only about a "feeling."

Unknowingly, I was trying to fill a void in my heart, desiring real love and acceptance, but I only experienced lust and rejection. While looking, I fried my mind with L.S.D. and speed, which caused a euphoric feeling, but within hours, it was gone, leaving me only with fewer brain cells. I rejected the love of my family and was blind to God's love, which wasn't even a passing thought. Today, I know that only His love can truly satisfy a lonely heart through a personal relationship with Him.

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love -- not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:9-10, NLT).

The Lonely Hearts Club Band . . .

The Beatles portrayed themselves as the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and they were partly right; all I needed was love, but the God kind of love [Greek word agape; unconditional love] flowing from my Heavenly Father and filling my heart with His presence. Jesus said that He is the Vine, and we are His branches. And if we abide in Him, His love would abide in us and our joy would be full [meditate, John 15:1-11]. Jesus taught that only His Father's love could bring a relationship of peace and joy to a lonely and insecure heart. Because faith in His love and grace enables us to live a victorious Christian life, "For whatever is born of God [love] overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5 NKJV).

In hindsight, I recall an episode years ago, right after I was born again. During a psychiatric panel interview for the parole board, I was asked if I considered myself God-dependent. I knew that would be something negative in their eyes, but I responded by saying "yes" anyway. Plus, I briefly mentioned my prayerful relationship with God. It was considered a weakness to trust God for healing, but for me, that was a good thing. If I were asked again today, I'd say I'm God dependent and love dependent because God is love. According to Saint John,

"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love, God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world" (1 John 4:16-17, NLT).

The love of God flowing through our hearts is the source of salvation for all who believe in Jesus. This fact is often acknowledged mostly in tragic situations when all other avenues are exhausted. Some call it "jailhouse religion", but you don't have to be in jail to all of the sudden realize that God sent His Word [Jesus, His love, grace and truth] to heal us and deliver us from destruction [Psalm 107:20]. Let's pray that God will open blind eyes to His healing power -- spirit, soul and body. That is, recognize that Jesus is the answer to overcome this world. He declared, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33b, NKJV). [Click here for the "Love Is All You Need" article and brochure].

The Answer My Friend . . .

dylanThough I am not a Roman Catholic, the answer was shared with 300 thousand people when Bob Dylan performed for Pope Paul. The pontiff told the crowd that ". . . the answer to life is blowing in the wind . . . the wind that is the breath and life of the Holy Spirit, the voice that calls and says 'Come!'" The Lord Jesus Christ said:

"I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-8, NLT).

Listen, the wind of the LORD was the "breath of life" creating man in Genesis 2:7; the Lord Jesus "breathed" the Holy Spirit on the disciples in John 20:22; the "rushing mighty wind" filled the early church with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:2; and the wind filled my heart on May 23, 1975, when I was born of the Spirit. Have you experienced the answer my friend that is blowing in the wind?

The Lord Jesus not only used "wind" as an analogy to help us understand being born of the Spirit, but also "water." He said: "If anyone thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38, NKJV). This flowing river of water is God's love being poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us. The apostle John is an example of someone who lavishly experienced God's love as wind and water overflowing from his heart to others and to God, Who first loved us. As one of the twelve disciples, John became known as John the Beloved, who referred to himself as ". . . the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). [Click here for the "God's Divine Flow" article and brochure].

John wrote: "We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:19-20, NLT).

God's Pure Love . . .

Abounding Love podcast episode #281 starts with the founding verse of this ministry, which is based on the love of God and loving one another, but there are other aspects involving purity as follows: "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, NKJV). In these verses, the apostle Paul is praying for us to increase in love. Chapter 4 of First Thessalonians continues: "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2, NKJV). The word "abound," used in these verses means "to increase to overflowing." It pleases God when we show love to one another. Jesus gave us a new commandment that we love one another [John 13:34-35].

First Thessalonians 4:3-4 continues: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor . . ." What is the will of God? That we be sanctified, (set apart from the world) for Him, for pure and holy living. To abstain from fortification means to shun and detest sexual vices, interactions outside the bounds of marriage (between a man and a woman). The word "vessel" here refers to your body. First Thessalonians 4:5 continues: ". . . not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God . . ." The term, "passion of lust" implies our thoughts and dreams should not be about sexual desires. When you control these desires you're showing sanctification and your love for God and one another.

Let's go on to verse 6: ". . . that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness" (1 Thessalonians 4:6-7, NKJV). Holiness is separation from how the world [gentiles] think and act, and dedicate ourselves to purity. The truths spoken of in these verses have become much more difficult to preach on since the sexual revolution of the 1960's, but we need to know the truth of God's Word. Join me as we delve into this difficult subject. [Click here for the Abounding Love podcast #281 "God's Pure Love", dated 01/24/'25].

A Prayer For You . . .

When I think of all this Charles has shared, I fall to my knees and pray to You, Heavenly Father, Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower me with inner strength through the Holy Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in my heart as I trust in Him. I pray that my roots will grow down into Your love and keep me strong. And may I have the power to understand, as all Your people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is Your love. May I experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then I will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You.

Now all glory to You, my Lord, Who is able through Your mighty power at work within me, to accomplish infinitely more that I might ask or think. Glory to You in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:14-21, NLT).

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