LOVE

1 John 4:16-17, “And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.  In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.

In this we see that our Creator God, is creating a physical family that is spiritually just like HIM.  Gen.1:26.  “ God said, Let Us [Father, Word, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.”  And Jesus in His resurrection became the first, as the Word of God, to become physical as well as eternal.  And if we decide to die to our carnal nature that we inherited from Adam.  Die to our prideful sin nature in humility and obedience.  We can also be filled with the Holy Spirit and  joined to Jesus as LORD in eternity and receive a new eternal body without all the earthly Adamic limitations, Rom.8:13.

But the enemy that was originally given stewardship over this world as the “Covering Cherub” Ezekiel 28:14-16 is still trying to set up his own kingdom along side of our Creator. Our Creator God is now using him to give us the needed resistance for spiritual growth.  And thus a lot of confusion.  So let’s take a look, in 1 John 4:16 & 17 where we find that our Creator God of all things is “LOVE.”  And we find that lucifer, is basically the king of lust.  Love is to give, Lust is to get or to use. “If you love me, let me.”   I ask the Lord one time for His definition of LOVE…  Quickly, in my mind, I heard the following words, “Love is the highest good for the other person regardless of personal cost.”   Lust is not love. It imagines possession without covenant, pleasure without faithfulness, intimacy without honor. It takes what God made in His image and reduces it to something to be consumed.  It is totally manipulative without concern for the best for the other person.  

And the enemy has us so concerned about lust that really very little of God’s love can even flow.  We are told to greet one another with a Holy Kiss.  Romans 16:16, “Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ (the Messiah) wish to be remembered to you.”  1 Corinthians 16:20, “All the brethren wish to be remembered to you and wish you well. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”  I have never been taught just how to do that?  But I did experience that with a ministry in Santa Rosa at one time, blew me away, One of the most powerful gatherings in the Holy Spirit that I had ever experienced.  So much loving faith, so few fearful walls.  Everyone was loving and kissing me in faith as a visiting apostle.  And it worked, God’s power fell.

In a good marriage we are taught to expect the fullness of loving faith and to avoid fear, 1 Cor.7:4 as fear is faith going backwards, and tends to bring on us what we greatly fear as in Job 3:25.   Types of Love:  Love may take many forms, ranging from the  selfless love you might feel for a child to the passionate love of a romance. Exploring these distinctions can provide insight into relationships:  Eros: Passionate, romantic, or erotic love.    Storge: Affection based on kinship or deep familiarity, such as family love.   Agape: Unconditional, altruistic, or selfless love for humanity, God’s Love.  Ludis: Playful, flirtatious, or uncommitted affection.

So the basic question is how do we really find our way to be free from selfish love that is nothing more than the Carnal Nature sliding us into the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and pride of life.  And if I seek to attend to my own needs by using someone, that may be lust and sin.  But if in love I am seeking to help some one else resolve their needs, that could be Jesus.  Of course sex outside of marriage is very dangerous and it is sin.  There are over 20 million new cases of STD’s in the U.S. every year.  Sexually transmitted disease infections that are passed from person to person through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Common types include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, HIV, and HPV. They are typically caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.  There are 5 now without cure.  Our Heaven Father in wanting to keep the Family safe and has adultery and fornication at the top of His SIN List for our own protection.  But then that fear can also kept us from much of HIS love.

So how do we know in a relationship if we are blessed in God’s love or are we in the sin of lust.  I have been taking this to the Lord for some time now and this is what I am feeling.  Our enemy has been trying to make God’s Love into Lust so we are fearful of getting into lust and sin and getting locked out of God’s Love to each other.  Are we are feeling rather boxed up and lonely about it.  But I am beginning to sort it out.   If I see a lovely women, I can enjoy her beauty like a sunset or a lovely flower in someone else’s garden and send up a prayer for her to find God’s perfect will for her life. God made women to be beautiful, I can enjoy the beauty without trying pick the flower for my myself.  I love rainbows, I love living in Hawaii.  I love getting hugs from all of my great grand kids.  I am learning to be free in my love as well.  I am learning to breath in the Kingdom of God as I put to death my Carnal Nature that wants to make everting that God made beautiful,  to be sin.  If we allow that, it could dry us out and make us bitter and worthless.  We must learn how to great one another with a Holy Kiss.  That would be very difficult for me.  But you get the idea.  It is God’s loving power that brings people to Jesus.  We need to know when it is our carnal Adamic sin nature that is crying out.  We need to learn to put more rocks on it’s casket when it cry’s for mercy.  We need to learn when to be free in the Holy Spirit to love and help others find Jesus.  We need to learn to be loving salt and light in the Kingdom of God in order to complete our mission on earth.

Bottom line, we need to really check things out, is it God’s Love.  If it is something that Jesus would do for or to someone else to help them find the Kingdom of God.  It then is a good chance it is the Holy Spirit who is guiding us.   I gave a tract to an older gray haired oriental lady at Costco yesterday, and it made her day. When I approached her she was totally defensive.  But after a loving smile a few words and the tract, I thought she was going to run off with me and take me home.  I do look for God’s light when giving out tracts on light.  And in the resurrection, I wonder what happened?  Obviously we need to learn to be perfected in God’s kind of giving  love, John 4:16-17.