Tag: First Epistle of John

Posted in FORGIVENESS, LOVE

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20.

  • Keep His Command

God is love and He shows us this love daily. He gives us life, forgives our sins, heals our diseases, cleanses us from unrighteousness, etc.

The question is;

What could we do to reciprocate His love?

My answer is to love Him back.

If that is the case,

How do I know I love Him?

My answer is “keeping His commands”.

In John 14:15 from the NIV, Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

KJV says “if you love me, keep my commandments”.

AMP says “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.”

And MSG says “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.”

What command was He talking about?

In Chapter 13, and verse 34 of the same John, He said “A new command I give you: LOVE one another. As I have LOVE you, so you must love one another.” In verse 35, He continued that “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The point is clear that a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one who loves his or her neighbour in words, and in deeds. Therefore if you don’t love your brother or sister, then the LOVE of God is not in you. You are not walking in light. You are still walking in darkness according to the scriptures

  • Gift of Love

Love is the greatest gift you could ever offer to your neighbour. It is supreme. It is the greatest among the three giants; FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE. The reason being that GOD is LOVE: 1 John 4:8 “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Friends, let us take the opportunity we have each day  to show our Love to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by LOVING others. 1 John 4:20 says “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar”

Examine yourself today;

  1. Do you find it difficult to love someone (a friend, relative, etc, because they hurt you)?
  2. Do you have someone you don’t want to see, hear from, talk to, etc?
  3. Do you hate someone on this planet?
  4. Do you easily forgive when your neighbour sin against you?
  • The word “HATE”

“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” 1 John 3:15. I always advise people to stop using the word “HATE”. God is love and we have to talk about love. Instead of saying “I hate this phone because it is given me enough headache”, you could say “I pray this phone works properly because I love it some much”. I bless things so they stay strong and beautiful all the time. I would also encourage you not to hate your fellow human being. It does not matter whether that fellow is a Christian or not. Love everybody you see.

  • What God wants from you?

God is not expecting you to show others that you LOVE him. Rather, He wants you to show Him that you LOVE your neighbour. “If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”.  “12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John 4:12 New Living Translation (NLT) When you meet someone and he bleeds red, love him generously because he is your brother or sister.

Today, even now, if you have anything against anyone, no matter the intensity please forgive, and make peace. Don’t go about bragging about your love for God while your spirit is not at peace with someone. You would be deceiving yourself. I beseech you to let go all the pains, hurts, disappointments, heart breaks, etc and be at peace with all men.

Show love to your wife or husband. Love your friends, love those who curse you. Continue loving those who hate you and say all manner of things against you. You may not meet some of the people you see today tomorrow.

If that person dies today, when and where are you going to make peace? Today is the day we have. Make the most of the day. Love your neighbours

I will close with this:

1 John 3:21-24 The Message (MSG)

 21-24And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

Posted in LOVE

Liars on the Valentine’s Day

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20.

God is love and He shows us this love daily. He gives us life, forgives our iniquities, heals our diseases, cleanses us from unrighteousness, etc.

The question is; what can we do to reciprocate His love?

My answer to the question is to love Him back. If that is the case, how do I love know I love God?  And my answer again is keeping His command. In John 14:15 from the NIV, Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command. KJV says “if you love me, keep my commandments”.

What command was He talking about?

In Chapter 13, and verse 34 of the same John, He said “A new command I give you: LOVE one another. As I have LOVE you, so you must love one another.” In verse 35, He continued that “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The point is clear here; what makes a person known as a follower of Jesus Christ is his or her love for the next person he or she sees. Therefore if you don’t love your brother or sister, then the LOVE of God is not in you. You are still walking in darkness.

Love is the greatest gift you could ever offer to someone. It is supreme. It is the greatest among the three giants; FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE. The reason being that GOD is LOVE: 1 John 4:8 “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” To prove that God is LOVE, Let us get to 1 Corinthians 13:4 and replace love with God.

“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs….”

“God is patient, God is Kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He does not dishonour others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs…”

Friends, let us take the opportunity 14th February is presenting to show our Love to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by LOVING everybody. 1 John 4:20 says “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar”

Examine yourself today, cast your mind back; Is there a single soul you hate? Do you have someone you don’t like, you don’t want to see, hear from, talk to, etc? Have you opened your mouth to say “I HATE YOU” before? Hmmmm! God sees you as a murderer. “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” 1 John 3:15

God is not expecting you to let others know that you LOVE him. Rather, He expects you to show that LOVE to your fellow human being. “If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”. When you meet someone, and he bleeds red, love him generously because he is your brother or sister.

On this day, 14th Feb, if you have anything against anyone, no matter the intensity; forgive, and make peace. Don’t go about buying gifts for some people while you hate someone or other people. You would be deceiving yourself. I beseech you to let go all the pains, hurts, disappointments, heartbreak, etc and be at peace with all men.

Show some love to your wife, show some love to your husband. Love your friends, love those who curse you. Continue loving those who hate you, and say all manner of things against you. Let us all make good use of this wonderful opportunity to tell the world we are LOVE. You may not meet some of the people you see today next year. Today is the day we have. Don’t be among the LIARS because all liars will go to Hell. Instead,  Be a true disciple of our Lord Jesus.

And to the young and unmarried folks, know your limit. Satan is out there to tempt many on this day. Be self-controlled, be vigilant. If you truly love your girlfriend or boyfriend as your claim, you would save his or her soul from the day of destruction. You wouldn’t do things that would contaminate his or her body for eternal suffering.

Happy LOVE day!

 

Posted in CONTROLLING SELF

“ONE THING”

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4.

I have come to realize that in life, there is always one thing a person can’t do without. You may give him everything yet he wouldn’t be happy till he gets that thing. It could be anything. I dressed up for a party. The dress was good but at a point, I couldn’t find my tie; the tie that would match my outfit. I searched everywhere… I couldn’t find it and that made me unhappy throughout the hours I spent at the party. That one thing spoilt my day.

Friends, our days are numbered and you can only choose one thing at a time. The world is ruled by two forces; the Power of Light/Knowledge and the Power of Darkness/Ignorance. You can only choose one. The world is ruled by One Master (God), and one who wants to be a master (Satan). You can only serve one.

You can do one thing at a time. I heard a story of one American President. He held a meeting with his vice and others. At the same time, his child was disturbing. A member asked if the president could talk to the child. The president responded he could only do one thing at a time. Either he rules America or takes care of his child. He can’t do both. This is what I mean, you can’t live on earth, claiming you have Jesus, yet your works don’t show. The only difference between an unbeliever and yourself is you go to church on Sundays. Jesus said that so long as we want to be His disciples, we should let our Lights shine.

You can’t love God, and love the world at the same time. You can do one at a time. In I John 2:15; we are told “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” Some believers today love worldly songs, dresses, and show much interest in worldly movies. We are on this earth but we don’t belong here. We are visitors; God brought us here for a purpose therefore it is quite unnecessary trying to be like others who have neglected God, and His son Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:16 tells us the kind of songs we should sing and pay attention to. You can’t love Spiritual songs and Worldly songs at the same time. What is your favourite song? Who is your favourite artist? Who is your favourite movie star? Better still, who is your favourite celebrity? What do they do? Does that bring glory to God?

You can love one person at a time. Our words are powerful; Read on how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob and you would know the choice of Words you have to use daily in all situations.  Some of us in relationships, do make some confessions that don’t glorify the Father. When a married man tells the wife “I love you with all my heart” he says that to himself as it is written, the two shall become one. However, any relationship that is not marriage involves two people. For instance When I tell a lady I love her with all my heart (while am not married to her), I am confessing that she has my heart (which belongs to God as a bachelor). Some folks even say “I’ve given my whole heart to you”.  No wonder we suffer broken hearts in the long run. Jesus said the first commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart….” You can’t love two Master. If you are not married, God has an issue with your confession that you love a boyfriend or girlfriend with all your heart. Search yourself, have you said that before?

Where would you spend eternity? Heaven or Hell? You can’t be at the two places at the same time. You must choose one. Think twice and know that One thing can take you to either Heaven or Hell.

Paul said in Philippians 3:13 that “one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”

I would advise you take some time to think about your life. What One thing do you need to change from?

And what One thing do you need to improve in your life? Pray to God for strength.

MERRY CHRISTMAS