love of God

LOVE?

by ladypbwiggins

What did Y’shua mean?

Matthew 22:35-40 (KJV)
35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38  This is the first and great commandment.
39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This word is used so freely to describe such a wide range of emotions. We say “I love you” just to be nice sometimes without thinking of the depth of feelings the other person may believe it to mean. In the scripture above the word is translated from the Greek word agapeo which is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as “to love in a social and moral sense.” What does that mean? Comparing it to brotherly love, phileo, agapeo is an deliberate, intellectual act of the will that embraces duty, propriety and principle. In other words, it is not based on feelings but is a choice. As Y’shua states above, we are to love God with all our heart, our soul and our mind. Love the Lord your God with all your thoughts and feelings, your breath, and your deep thought (understanding).

That makes clear HOW I am to love but what does the word love mean?Going back to Deuteronomy 6:5 that Y’shua was quoting the word love is defined as ‘to have affection for.” That seems easy. I can have affection for God and for you. However, it goes so much deeper than that. It has to be an “all” kind of love. My entire being expresses love for my God. It’s ALL encompassing; my very lifestyle. That my friend affects how I love you or myself. Paul, a scholar of the Law, summarizes Yahweh’s instructions on the lifestyle of the Israelites and Y’shua’s teachings in the following text.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV)
4  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. …….1
13  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I deliberately, and intellectually choose to LOVE.

You Talking About Me?

by ladypbwiggins

It is believed Malachi prophesied after the exiled Israelites had returned home and the wall  and the Temple had been rebuilt. Sacrifices had been resumed. They seemed secure but were still under Persian dominance. The people had become disillusioned because some of the prophecies of wealth and independence had not been fulfilled. The prevailing thought was “God did not love them so why serve Him?” The priests who were responsible for the spiritual well-being of the people were now corrupt. They did not teach the people the laws of God. They did not insist that the people obey the laws of God. The sacrifices to God had become less than their best and had become just something to do to say we observed the ritual, but did nothing to reverence God. Why sacrifice if what you are sacrificing is defective or of poor quality?. And they stopped tithing.

As I read about these conditions, I felt Malachi could have been talking directly to us. Many of us are disillusioned and don’t believe God loves us. We don’t see His promises being fulfilled in our lives or so we think. Church is just something to do to check off the box.Oh and what beautiful buildings they are.  Many of us who say we believe don’t really reverence God. We don’t give Him our best. We give Him inferior sacrifices and complain about tithing. We, too, have corrupt priests, preachers, pastors. They don’t teach God’s laws or guide us to righteousness. They teach “getting all you can and give it to me.”

Here is the LORD of Host’s answer through Malachi to Israel and to Us.

I do love you. You are still here. I haven’t destroyed you.

To the priests, et al. I am not pleased with you. You bring me defective offerings and I will not accept them.

Paraphrase: You despised my name among the nations. You profaned the offering.You gave to me less than your best and I won’t accept it.

I am a great King.

My name (my position, authority and character) will be reverenced.