Posts Tagged ‘love’
Episode 420 – Love is not a Contract
People do good things for three reasons. Some do good to avoid punishment. Others do good to earn rewards. The best reason to do good is because we love God. Doing good to get a response from God is contractual. Love is not a contract. When we are judged by God on Judgment Day, He…
Read MoreGiving Everything
You’re walking down the city sidewalk, and a homeless man begs for help. You reach into your pocket and grab the spare change and toss it in his hat. You feel good about yourself for not ignoring the man and go about your day satisfied. You never miss the loose change that was in your…
Read MoreObedience Requires Love
Yesterday I said we needed to serve God with free will and love, not out of duty. Today I want to discuss obedience as a fruit of love. There is a difference between duty and obedience. Many people do not see the difference. How can we be obedient and still use free will? Peter, an…
Read MoreFree Will is Greater than Duty
When I was young my family had a dog which we all loved. What I didn’t love was waking up early to take him for a walk. One day my father asked me if I wanted to take the dog for a walk. My answer was a lesson I will never forget. I said no,…
Read MoreEpisode 417 – Learning to Love
When Christ was asked which law was the most important, He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these…
Read MoreThe Value of Love
Free this and free that. They say nothing is free, but ‘they’ are wrong. Love is free. It costs nothing but pride. It costs nothing but the willingness to not be loved back. On the other hand, love is what gives everything else value. Brethren, you are the body of Christ and individually members of…
Read MoreThe Cost of Following God
There is a cost to everything. Whether it be financial cost, emotional cost, or the cost of time, everything that we desire comes at a cost. The more we want something, the more we are willing to pay. The less we care about something, the less we are willing to pay. Then there are those…
Read MoreLoyalty Has Its Limits
When my father was young it was expected that if a person dedicated his life to a company, the company would take care of him in retirement. Workers and companies were loyal to each other. Those days are gone. Workers used to be able to count on ‘moving up’ in the same company after years…
Read MoreEpisode 406 – A Commandment of Love
Maybe the most difficult commandment from God is for us to love our enemies and those who do not love us in return. It takes real courage to love those who love. The Golden Rule requires Christian courage. We all need love. None of can survive without love. When we can figure this out, then…
Read MoreLoving God
We say we will do anything for the ones we love. History is filled with dramatic love stories, many of which end in tragedy. We don’t mind the tragedy because it represents love. We like to imagine that we would endure tragedy for the ones we love. When push comes to shove, it is true…
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