Thursday, September 18, 2014

"Works of Love"


    God, the abundantly generous Giver beyond measure, bestows His nature and disposition into the hearts of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).

    In the light of His loving presence within us, our Heavenly Father leads us into a life of opportunity to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (Ephesians 5:2).  We discover the truth of our Lord's words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).  Moreover, we realize that through Christ, countless ways of giving present themselves to our hearts.  Certainly we may bestow material gifts to others.  However, the love of God manifests itself in countless other ways as we recognize its dynamic presence within us.  The Apostle Paul affirmed the Macedonian believers as examples.  They gave of their means, Paul writes, but they "first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God" (II Corinthians 8:3-5).

  How will our Heavenly Father lead us to love Him and others in this day?  These are the great issues of this, the only day we actually have to live in the light of truth and reality.  The two great commands, repeated in Old Testament and New, call us to love God and others (Matthew 22:37-39).  Perhaps a prayer, or an encouraging word (or a challenging word), or a contact, or the bestowal of forgiveness, or the sacrifice of time, effort, attention, possession, and our personal wants for the blessing of others - the Lord will lead and enable us to know the joy of His giving heart as we affirm its living presence in our spirits.  Our calling involves trusting that He dwells within us for the fulfillment of such holy purpose, and the presenting of ourselves to the leading and enabling of the Holy Spirit for God's works of love in and by us.  Thus, we do well to pray for ourselves and each other the request Paul made for the believers of Philippi...

"And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" (Philippians 1:9).

Weekly Memory Verse
    Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.  Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
(Psalm 49:2)


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