The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 7:3b-4,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds."
Here Paul speaks of the place in his heart the Corinthian believers hold. Paul's life was a wonderful expression of the love that compels a believer in Jesus Christ. In his earlier life he persecuted believers. Having become one himself he was filled with God's Holy Spirit and so his heart was changed in a way that reflected God's presence in his life.
We are told in 1 John 4:8, "God is love". Since love is an essential aspect of God's character and nature, his love has a way of permeating our lives as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. John also says, "… love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
We see this love manifest in Paul's life. We also see it in Titus. "Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative." 2 Corinthians 8:17. "In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you… And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling." 2 Corinthians 7:13-16.
We also see it in the churches in Macedonia in this same portion of Scripture, "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints." 2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
And if we look around us today, we see that same love that reflects God's character and nature in the lives of those who are his. Brothers and sisters who give, who encourage, who hold dear in their hearts one another. As I think of it, I see in it all a manifest expression of God's essential nature: his wonderful, matchless love!
Those who draw close to God manifest that most wonderful and transcendent love of his, reflecting him in our lives.
What a God of love we worship!
Here Paul speaks of the place in his heart the Corinthian believers hold. Paul's life was a wonderful expression of the love that compels a believer in Jesus Christ. In his earlier life he persecuted believers. Having become one himself he was filled with God's Holy Spirit and so his heart was changed in a way that reflected God's presence in his life.
We are told in 1 John 4:8, "God is love". Since love is an essential aspect of God's character and nature, his love has a way of permeating our lives as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. John also says, "… love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
We see this love manifest in Paul's life. We also see it in Titus. "Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative." 2 Corinthians 8:17. "In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you… And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling." 2 Corinthians 7:13-16.
We also see it in the churches in Macedonia in this same portion of Scripture, "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints." 2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
And if we look around us today, we see that same love that reflects God's character and nature in the lives of those who are his. Brothers and sisters who give, who encourage, who hold dear in their hearts one another. As I think of it, I see in it all a manifest expression of God's essential nature: his wonderful, matchless love!
Those who draw close to God manifest that most wonderful and transcendent love of his, reflecting him in our lives.
What a God of love we worship!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment