A Love That Won’t Fail

“Love never fails.” I Corinthians 13:8 [a] NKJV

Will you neglect agape love to gain the world?

In the last devotional, we discussed the consistency of love. God will “always” do that He’s suppose to do because He’s perfect however we cannot be perfect in this present time yet it does not exclude us from being consistent in our daily and moment to moment opportunities to be loving towards others. We should consistently protect, hope, trust and persevere in love and through love. That is the will of God.

In our final discussion of love in this series, we will inclined towards the awareness of things of this world which impede on or hinder our ability to love and how love should never fail. We must understand that a love that will not fail must first be built on a firm foundation which is Jesus Christ.

The perfect love of God was demonstrated to us and for us through God sending His only Son to earth to die in our place for sin that separated us from having a relationship with God. Christ laid down the foundation on which we should build our lives upon. Why? Because He is the perfect example of how life should be lived and He is the cornerstone of our lives meaning He sets the standard. To make sure your love will not fail, you need to check your foundational slab of whatever you are building on to make sure there’s no crack, mold nor uneven floors. If there is, then it’s not build on Christ. Let me explain.

When God comes to inspect the foundation or condition of our hearts, He will look to see what we’ve been harboring there. There are things in our hearts that defile us and make us unclean due to the nature of where those things develop from. We talked about the works of the flesh in a previous devotional, yet we need to understand that the flesh works against us to keep us from obeying the Holy Spirit. The enemy will tempt us like he did Jesus in the wilderness in 3 distinct areas that our flesh fall to: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of eye. These areas distract us, hinder us and blind us from loving God and others. It corrupts us and causes us to neglect and disappoint God and the people He has entrusted to our care.

“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” I John 2:16 NKJV

1. The lust of the flesh are things that our flesh craves such as food (overeating), sex, alcohol, and drugs. These are things that our flesh wants to take pleasure in and have instant gratification.

2. The lust of the eye are things that our eyes see and lustfully desire such as expensive houses, cars, designer clothes, lustfully desiring another person or a person’s significant other.

3. The pride of life are things that produce haughtiness, arrogance and pride such as popularity, fame, status, and personal achievements. None are these are bad however the devil will twist your thoughts about the gain of these things or the evil intent of gaining these things to achieve glory and recognition when all glory and honor belongs to God.

If these things are in your heart, the condition of your heart or foundational slab is ruined. Now how can God use you for His glory if your heart is not in the right place. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ who is the answer to that dilemma. If you wholeheartedly repent (turn away) from those sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you your sins. Jesus will rule your heart with His peace and guide you on the things that should be in your heart such as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If you abide in Jesus, He will abide in you meaning if you just remain close to Him at all times, He will remain close to you. However, if you stray away, He’ll still be ready and available to you, but you are not receiving His help and operating in your own will and strength and not His. We don’t want to treat God as an option. He is and should be our only choice daily. Yet, God knows we will face temptations of this world that will battle for His attention. No matter what, we need to choose God every time. Why? Because He chose us first and continues to choose us daily.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:23-24 NKJV

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:8-9 NKJV

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” Isaiah 43:1 NKJV

The perfect love of God will not fail us. God cannot fail. “God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should repent” (Numbers 23:19). If we fear that God will fail us then we have not fully accepted and embraced His love. His perfect love casts out all fear. Do not be deceived! God can and God will. God forgives and God restores. God comforts and God replenishes. He is faithful and true. No matter what hell you are experiencing here in the earth, it is NOT greater than our God. No matter what you’ve done, God can and will forgive then comfort you in your weeping sorrow. As the Apostle Paul said in the book of Romans, there is nothing that can ever separate you from the love of God! Sin may separate you relationally but you won’t be separated from His everlasting love. You have the choice to repent and come to Him with a humble spirit and contrite heart and He will dwell among you.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 NKJV

Jesus did not fail you on the cross. Jesus did not fail you in the grave. Jesus does not fail you now on the right hand of the Father. He just cannot fail meaning He will not neglect or disappoint you. This world will fail you, dismiss you and humiliate you every chance it gets. So you should trust in God and trust also in Christ. Believe in the One who knew you and formed you in your mother’s womb. Trust in the One who saved your soul by the blood of His Son. Hope in the One who went to prepare a place for you in Heaven and is coming back to get you. Persevere in the One who is your place of safety and present help in time of trouble. If you are reading this devotional, this shows you that God cannot fail you. Why? Because you are alive and able to receive His Word in spite of all the things you endured. You’re still breathing. You’re still standing. God kept you and will sustain you because you are His now and forever.

It is my deepest prayer that you have enjoyed this series on love. I ask that you do not keep this devotionals to yourself but share them with family, friends, coworkers and church members whether saved or unsaved. The Word of God is for everyone. The cross is for everyone. My purpose is just to be a willing vessel for the glory of God. May Christ be magnified in me and also in you. God bless you.

The Consistency of Love

“It [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV

Will your love withstand the tests of life?

In our last week’s devotional, we learned that love does not delight or condone evil and injustices but rejoices when truth is acted upon in a righteous manner. We have to ensure that we are not allowing ourselves to be distracted and derailed by the temptations of this world. We have to rebuke and cast down the thoughts that come to our minds to not allow them to travel to our hearts to breed sin in our lives. The works of the flesh will quench and grieve the Holy Spirit. We must walk in the Spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit that allows us to live and love in truth and righteousness.

This week on Part 6 of this series on love, we will learn what does consistent love look like utilizing the Scripture above as our focal point. First let’s begin with dissecting the word: Always

Always is defined as “at all times; on all occasions.” This word is also considered an absolute which means it’s unconditional. It’s a superlative that only God can do and uphold. However, we place expectations on people to “always” do this or that which creates disappointment when that specific expectation is not met. We can depend on God to always be who we need Him to be or do what He says He will do because He is perfect. We can rest assured that God is always just, faithful, true, loving and always been because that is who He is as well as He is eternal.

““I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”” Revelation 1:8 NKJV

“…For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,” Isaiah 46:9[b] NKJV

We cannot say “always” about another human being because no one is like God. Nevertheless, it does NOT excuse a person from being or becoming consistent with their actions, words and behaviors majority of the time.

Consistency is the action of achieving a level of conduct but does not vary or decrease over an extended amount of time. God is consistent because He never changes. As children of God, we are to imitate our Heavenly Father. We may not achieve “always” because of our flesh which limits us but we can strive for consistency and maintain that level of achievement with the sustainable help of the Holy Spirit whom is limitless.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26 NKJV

Let’s unpack what God (love) does always (consistently).

1. Always Protect

⁃ God will always protect us because He created us, chose us and called us. We belong to Him and His heart cares for us beyond anything we can comprehend. His protection looks different for all of us because we all have an unique and personal relationship with Him. God will protect us from the enemy, the world, people and even our own foolish decisions. He knows what’s best for us because He made us and knows all things. His love guards us and keeps us from calamity for He is our Great Shepherd.

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:1-2 NKJV

2. Always Trusts

⁃ God trusted us by creating man in His own image. He made us fearfully and wonderfully. He believed in us by sending His own Son to die for us so that we can be made right and be reconciled back to Him. He also entrusted to us His Spirit to indwell us and be our Helper at all times. God trusted us with the deepest parts of who He is through relationship of His Son and Spirit.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 NKJV

3. Always Hopes

⁃ God hopes for us to choose Him freely by repentance and accepting His Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior. His love hopes we will receive His love and give His love to others. God hopes that we will seek Him in all things and become more like His Son in character and deed. He believes for the best for us and that we will depend upon Him solely and not the world.

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9 NLT

4. Always Perseveres

⁃ God perseveres through the ages through His Word, His promises, and His power. He endures our rebellious ways by His nature of compassion and grace. He endures our moments of fear, doubt and hopelessness by His character of faithfulness and righteousness. He endures the sufferings that we endure by His unfailing love and power. God has always been and He always endures. Though we never really think or talk about the endurance of God through nations and generations of rebellion, rejection and abandonment; He endured it all for us. And His greatest endurance was to watch His own creation crucify His own Son to save us from ourselves and the curse that fell upon us. Our God’s love, faithfulness and truth has conquered everything we’ve done to Him.

“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”” Exodus 34:6-7 NLT

God showed us how to love by His constant demonstrations throughout His Word. Jesus showed us the greatest act of love was to lay down one’s self for the sake of someone else. The Holy Spirit shows us love by helping us, comforting us and leading us into all truth while giving us gifts to glorify God. Though we are not perfect, we can become mature in our walk with God to become more like Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t expect us to do it all by ourselves or to be “perfect”. He just wants us to do the right thing when we’re engaging and interacting with others consistently. This journey of consistency takes time, patience, and prayer. We also have to allow the Holy Spirit to undo the things we learned from the world while living in the world to endure our remaining time vacationing here in this world. You must go to the Father in prayer in the name of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to give you the words from your heart to seek His grace, strength and wisdom on the how to. Remember God says to seek Him and His righteousness and all else will be added to us. God will provide us a way or make a way for us. We just have to be diligent in sincerely seeking Him and allowing Him to help us in those moment to moment instances.

Our final devotional on this series will be on next week as we conclude with how love never disappoints.

Love In Truth With Righteousness

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV

In last week’s devotional, we dove into honoring the Holy Spirit with our actions. We have to ensure that we:

1. Be kind to everyone because God shows you kindness.

2. Show mercy to everyone because God’s mercies are new to you daily.

3. Forgive everyone because God forgave you

By applying these practical steps, we honor the Holy Spirit and not grieve Him because He can be hurt by our actions and words.

This week, we will conclude on what love is not prior to taking the voyage of understanding what love does when it’s rooted in God. The scripture reference is 1 Corinthians 13:6 which tells us that love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. As we look deeper into this scripture, let’s select the words delight and rejoice for context.

Delight is defined as to take pleasure in. When we delight in something, we find the gratification, satisfaction and pleasure in what we’re experiencing. We begin to find ourselves in a dilemma when what we delight in pleases our flesh. We have been conditioned by the world to find delight or great pleasure in many things and places that are contrary to the Word of God and does not honor Him. From a carnal perspective, it may seem harmless but spiritually it is dangerous to our being. The enemy uses what appears gratifying to us to lure us into his trap and we become entangled in the culture, customs and traditions of this world. These things please our flesh which is against the Spirit of God. The works of the flesh are activities that spawn separation from God because it leads to sin and sin leads to death.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV

The works of the flesh listed above is what Paul wrote to the church of Galatia when he was encouraging them to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. When we walk in or obey our flesh, it produces these evil and abominable actions that breeds sin into our lives. Tragically, there are people who truly “delight” or take pleasure in adultery, fornication, idolatry and more. Now you may not recognize it instantly or even want to acknowledge it, but it happens in our fallen world. There are people who enjoy cheating on their spouses or having pre-martial sex, idolizing money, celebrities and fame, practicing witchcraft through manifestations, crystals and casting spells, and much more. Some of us may not participate in the actual performance of it but we condone it by not holding other people accountable for their actions yet we want to consider ourselves the body of Christ. This is not to judge or point out the sins of another but to correct in love with the help of the Holy Spirit because we are responsible for one another.

Our world has become de-sensitized to these things to the point where it does not affect a person which would cause them to be aware that this is completely wrong. The rate of murders has increased which is fueled by envy, selfish ambitions, jealously, and wrath. These works of the flesh feed off one another and produce greater tragedies in our lives. You may say “No I don’t like any of that!” but we’ve all participated in it in some facet in our lives. You may not have murdered someone with a weapon or your hands but you have with your heart. You may not have committed adultery physically with someone else but it occurred in your heart. Jesus taught us the action does not have be made physically for it to be a sin; it begins with your heart. Our sin can also cause someone else to sin as well.

““You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”Matthew 5:21-22 NLT

““You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 NLT

““You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’ But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.” Matthew 5:31-32 NLT

And yes, the second scripture above goes for women as well if they look at another man or even woman with lust or if a man lusts after another man, you have committed adultery in your heart. We have to be careful with our hearts because they are the compass and can discern of our true intent. Our hearts can either house evil and defiling things or Jesus Christ. We have to make a decision on which one rules our hearts daily.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Rejoice is defined to feel or show great joy or delight. Delight and rejoice seem quite similar but differ depending on the root of their intentions and source. When we rejoice, there is a praise that is attached to it. We rejoice when we receive a new job, marriage, new baby, salvation, when there’s healing that takes place or deliverance from an affliction. It is the pure joy we receive because it was God who provided and performed it all. It is He who worked everything for our good. It was His plans for us that were for good and not for evil that gave us a future and a hope. It was His Word that proceeded out of His mouth and that never returned back to us void. When we experience the goodness of God, we rejoice in truth. The truth is Jesus Christ. That’s why we rejoice in Him.

Jesus is the the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Him, we have all we need. We rejoice in Him because through Him we were made, saved, redeemed, delivered and sanctified. Because of Jesus, every promise of God is Yes and Amen. Our love should imitate or emulate the way of Christ, the truth of Christ and the life of Christ. As we learned previously, love is an action. God is love and His action was to send His Son to die in our place for the sins we committed. God could have allowed us to die in our sin but He didn’t. That’s the difference between God and the enemy, the enemy wants us to remain entangled, ensnared and entrapped. But God provides the Way out by His Truth and into His eternal Life by being reborn in Water and of the Spirit, redeemed by the Blood of Christ and renewed by His Grace. And when we walk in the Spirit of God, He produces in us not works of the flesh but in the fruit of Him. These fruit or characteristics reflect the heart of God. By walking in the Spirit, you have nailed the works of your flesh to the cross and no longer allow them to rule you or dictate your actions.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 NKJV

We have to be righteous or do the right thing every opportunity we have. We cannot allow ourselves to continuously fall prey to the schemes of the enemy or be conformed to this fallen world. We have a choice daily and we must choose wisely. Though God’s compassion for us prevents us from being consumed by His new mercies daily, we should not taken advantage of His grace and kindness. It is time that we choose to step away from the works of the flesh and begin walking step by step with the Holy Spirit. In Him, He will renew us, transform us and lead us into all truth so that we can rejoice in truth and do the right thing every time we’re faced with temptations of this world.

Next week, we will explore the consistency of love in action.

Honor The Spirit of Love

“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:30-32 NLT

Does the way you love grieve the Spirit of God?

As we continue this series on love, we reflect on last week’s discussion on what is not love. We discovered that love is not envious, boastful nor prideful. When we look at how close we are to God, you can determine the ease or difficulty it is to love others. If we’re constantly in the presence of God and embracing His love, we are capable and sufficient to love others with His love. However, if we are distant from God, we begin to become tainted by the world and our “love” becomes rooted in carnality and produces envy, boasting and pride. We have a choice to allow the circumstances in life to produce endurance, godly character and hope to be filled with the love of the Holy Spirit.

Now the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Triune God we serve. He is the Spirit of God. He is God also. The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is all powerful, all knowing and everywhere all at the same time. He leads us into all truth, abounds grace to us and provides the spiritual gifts to edify the church and the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit we spoke of before such as patience and kindness as well as the other 7 parts of the fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Yet, people do not honor Him for who He is. The Holy Spirit is a Person and as a Person, He has thoughts and emotions. He can be grieved (hurt, disappointed, sadden) by our words and deeds. That’s why we must be careful in all that we do because He lives inside of us who have been born again.

In this week’s devotional, we will continue understanding what is not love. This will help us also to begin to grasp the concept of honoring not only the Holy Spirit but God Himself and the people He has entrusted to us to love with His love. Below you will find the scripture that we will use as our compass for this week.

“It [Love] does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

Sometimes we become subjected to hurt, pain and turmoil based on our life’s circumstances. The experience can turn our heart cold, distant and unmoved. We’ve all been through painful experiences that have tested and tried our patience, kindness and even love. Those scars or wounds are not always properly healed or restored. Sometimes it’s because we are not even aware that they were there to begin with. Other times, it’s because we haven’t taken the time to heal and become whole. If left unchecked, it can cause our actions towards others to be ungodly, immature and selfish. There are times we project our hurt onto other people and we don’t even recognize it. This hurt can be subtle or blatant. Either way, it is unhealthy and unfair to the person that’s on the receiving end of it. When we treat others based on our own emotional wounds and mental instabilities or complexities, our actions towards them are dishonorable, selfish and angered. We tend to keep the record of wrong doings that people have done to us.

Let’s break down each part.

Love does not dishonor: When we look at the term honor, we define it as “high respect; great esteem”. When we honor someone, we treat them with respect not because of the status, title or position but because they are a human being and worthy of it. We all are worthy to be treated with respect and dignity as human beings no matter our background, socioeconomic status or race or gender. Honoring others displays a level of humility to say that you are not better than that person and neither are they. You both are equals. Now the enemy and the world has created division among God’s people which continues to create dysfunction and discord in communities. There are times when we dishonor or disrespect others because we may not respect or honor ourselves. We may lack a sense of confidence or have an inflated sense of worth which projects itself on how we treat others. We must be careful to treat everyone to same. Jesus has warned us that whatever we do even to the least of person, we do to Him. So if you’re dishonoring someone, remember you are also dishonoring Jesus which grieves the Holy Spirit.

““And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew 25:40 NLT

Love is not self-seeking: The god of this world which is Satan wants all the attention, glory and praise. He is consumed with selfishness and does only what pleases him. If we are not careful, we can become like him in our perspectives and actions. Social media has done a fantastic job at luring and trapping people in the concept of seeking attention. Majority of people post for the sole purpose to receive gratification, validation and affirmation from people they don’t even know to please their flesh. The love they desire is self-seeking because it points the finger back to them and not to God. We cannot sit here and take all the credit for the beauty and splendor of God. He has created us, formed us and established us to be where we are today. When we love selfishly like that, we ignore God and all He has done as well all the needs of others. We become vacuumed into a box that limits our ability to see past our vain tendencies and into the selfless attributes of Christ. Christ came to lay down His life for us. If we’re so busy building up our status and followers, how we can ever be like Christ to lay down our own lives to love sacrificially for the greater good of the Kingdom of God.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Mark 8:36 NKJV

Love is not easily angered: When we’re filled with anxiety or battling depression, we begin to become irritable. This irritability is marked by worrying and lack of trust. Then when its left unattended and had a chance to be stewed and stirred by more problems, troubles and hurt, it can grow and build into frustration then anger. When anger is not rooted in godliness, it can become deadly and cause calamity. Some of us are angered by our circumstances or previous occurrences of abuse, poverty, or loss. We become stricken by this and it appears there’s no hope. It creates bitterness, rage, anger, malice, curse words to come out of our mouths, and slander the character of others along with other ungodly things. We project this onto others because “Hurt people, Hurt people”. My question to you is: Do you have control over it? Many times we are so focused on things that we have no control over. Yes, you are hurt. Yes, you’ve been abused. Yes, you’ve been without. Yes, it’s all unfair. And no, I’m not discounting or minimizing the pain and turmoil you encountered and endured. Yet, I am asking, can you change any of it by being anxious, depressed, or angry? What you experienced hurt God as well. You may not know it but He feels what you feel because He is alive in you. He knows your pain, hurt and discomfort. He understands it’s not right and unfair. Yet, He promised that vengeance is His, not yours. He just wants you to cast the whole of your care upon Him and let Him have your hurt so He can heal and restore.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” I Peter 5:6-7 NKJV

Love keeps no record of wrongs: We have a tendency to become accountants of hurt. We keep an account of every person or situation that has hurt us, wronged us, or offended us. It has a starting point from our earliest encounter of pain and continues up until this present day. This bookkeeping of hurt not only breeds bitterness and anger, it also hinders us from experiencing joy, peace and liberty. This build up also inhibits us from loving others. We may falsely believe we love someone but how can we genuinely and unconditionally love while holding onto hurt from the past whether the hurt is from someone else or that person that you say that you love. Our God does not keep a record of our wrongs. In fact, His Word says He tosses it away into the depths of the sea. It doesn’t mean He does not hold us accountable; it means He chooses to forgive us and removes the act of sin as far as possible away from Him. If you’re battling with unforgiveness, then I sincerely encourage you to bring your heart to the altar of God and let God heal the wounds of your hurt and pain. God wants you to forgive and let go just like He has forgiven us of our sins. He gives mercy so we can give mercy to others.

“Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19 NKJV

When we dishonor others, live selfishly, become easily angered and hold offense in our heart, it all grieves the Holy Spirit. He experiences all of this because He is with us and lives in us. This grievance restricts Him from moving into our hearts and healing us because we do not humble ourselves to acknowledge it and ask for help. We sometimes unknowingly enjoy holding onto pain because we identify ourselves as the victim. But God sees you a victor! You have victory in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is our Helper to remove the things in our hearts that defile us and corrupt us. Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. If we truly desire to love like our God, we must be able to be honest with ourselves and Him. God gives grace to the humble. And we must honor the Holy Spirit with our actions and words.

How To Honor the Holy Spirit

1. Be kind to everyone because God shows you kindness.

2. Show mercy to everyone because God’s mercies are new to you daily.

3. Forgive everyone because God forgave you

It sounds so simple but truly it can be difficult because of the experiences we’ve had, not being taught these things in our home environment, or battling with our flesh. However, it’s not impossible because with God all things are possible. If we desire a change and we openly come to God with our hearts to be changed, He can and will help us to do this daily. We just have to be honest, humble and submissive of our hearts unto the Holy Spirit. He’s close beside us and yearns to assist us in all ways. Let Him help you, comfort you and heal you. He’s mighty and gentle to do so.

Next week, we’ll conclude on what is not love before we dive back into what does love do.