The election here in the US is finally over. It is a relief not to be bombarded with political ads. I thank you for taking time to read the message, and I hope that you are all doing well this week.
Over the course of the last couple of months, we've been in engaged in a study of some of the characteristics of a life lived in love. Today, I am going to conclude this series by looking at the final verse of Paul's great chapter on love I Corinthians 13. The final verse of this chapter states, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Faith, hope and love are all critical aspects of the Christian life. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. We have to have faith in order to believe in God. We are saved by grace through faith. Having faith in the promises of God leads us to serve Him to our fullest measure.
We have to have hope in what is promised to us by the Lord Jesus. Our hope is in Him. The Lord Jesus has promised that those who love Him will be with Him forever in the place that He has prepared for those who accept Him as Savior and Lord. Our hope is in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. We wait in hope for that great day when Jesus returns and makes all things new. He will make a new Heaven and a new Earth. All will be restored to the way things were before sin entered into the world.
Faith and hope are necessary. They are essential parts of our faith. However, as important as they are, Paul tells us that the greatest of all is love. Without love we have nothing at all. We would not have the opportunity to exercise our faith or live our lives in hope had it not been for the love of the Lord Jesus that led Him to come to this earth and redeem us from our sins. Love is what the Christian religion is supposed to be all about.
As we've seen in this series of messages, it is all about love. The great commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. The second great commandment is to love our neighbor a we love ourselves. Love is what allows us to follow the Golden Rule and forgive those who have trespassed against us.
As we close out this series on the love and what it looks like lived out in the actions of a believer, I want to mention something. Being a Christian and following Jesus as Lord involves all of one's life. Ever aspect of our lives must be filled with the love of Jesus given out to others. We have to look to Jesus and love like Jesus loved. Whenever we speak ill of those who are vulnerable or oppressed, we are not living in love. When we make people feel as if they are worthless or hurt others with our words, we are not living in love. When we don't help those who are in need when it is in our power to do so, we are not living in love. When we see a planet that is in crises and don't act to preserve it for future generations, we aren't living in love.
Being a Christian means loving God and loving our neighbor. Jesus is our example. Let us love others as He did while He was among us. Amen.
Prayer Requests
We did not have bad flooding from the storms in my area, and I want to thank the Lord for that. I also want to thank the Lord for His provision in getting something paid off that I needed to get paid.
The election was this week in the US. Without getting too political I just want to ask you to pray for the US.
Please keep praying for those affected by the bad storms. Spain needs our prayers as that nation recovers from the floods. Pray for those recovering form the hurricanes in the US.
Remember to pray for peace. Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Haiti all need our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Brunei and Burkina Faso. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will start a new short series. I will post the verses on Monday. May God bless you all.
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