Choose Love (8 page)

When Jesus asked for a drink of water from the woman at the well in Samaria, she questioned why He, a Jew, would have anything to do with a Samaritan woman. Jesus told her that if she knew who He really was, she would have asked Him for
living
water (John 4:7-10).

He said, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.
But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life
” (John 4:13-14). Little did she know that this eternal fountain of life would come from His Spirit dwelling in her.

This fountain of life dwells in you by the same Holy Spirit.

Jesus referred to Himself as “the true bread from heaven” or “the bread of life.” “Jesus said to them, ‘Moses did not give you the bread
from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world
.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘
I am the bread of life
.
He who comes to Me shall never hunger
, and
he who believes in Me shall never thirst
’ ” (John 6:32-35).

Without Jesus and the Holy Spirit, even if you believe in God, you will only have “a form of godliness” but you will be denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). You do not want faux godliness. You want the real deal. You want the true and living power of God to penetrate your life.

When we become so wrapped up in ourselves instead of wrapped up in Him, we forget the good news of what He came to earth to accomplish. That’s why, even if we have walked with the Lord for a long time, we must continually be reminded of all we have been given through Him.

The birth of Jesus is one of the greatest events in all history. It is only surpassed by His death and resurrection. His entrance into the world had spiritual impact that shook the realm of darkness beyond what anything else could. He exposed the lies of the enemy with His truth. He gave us a way to forever be close to God. He secured our hope. He loved us that much.

We hear so much bad news today, but the truth about Jesus is always good news. And within the good news that we have in Him is the solution to all the bad news we see and hear.

He is the solution to all bad news in our lives.

And that is good news!

Prayer of Love

L
ORD
, I realize I can never receive all You
have
for me until I understand everything You
did
for me. Thank You that You, “the ruler over the kings of the earth,” loved me enough to wash me clean of all my sins by Your own blood (Revelation 1:5). Thank You that You are the living Word. You are my Savior. You have set me free from the consequences of my own sins, errors, mistakes, and ignorance. And You have made me to be a beloved child of God. Thank You that in You I find everything I need for life (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Thank You that You came “as a light into the world” so that I would never have to live in darkness (John 12:46). Thank You for Your Holy Spirit in me, for Your Word says that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9). But You have given me Your Spirit when I received You, and He is the seal and sign that I am Yours and You are with me always. Because of all You have done for me, I will live eternally with You and no one can change that.

Thank You, Lord, that You share Yourself with me. You share Your love, peace, and power. You share Your Spirit and Your wholeness. You are the bread of heaven who feeds me life. You are the fountain of living water in me that never runs dry. You are the way, the truth, and the life. You are my foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11). You are the living Word and the door to eternal life. You are the good shepherd, and I hear the voice of Your Spirit leading me. Thank You that You are unchanging and I can forever depend on You (Hebrews 13:8).

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Words of Love

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

1 J
OHN
4:9

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

G
ALATIANS
2:20

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

R
OMANS
5:8

In this is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 J
OHN
4:10

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

J
OHN
3:17

4

Read God’s Love Letter to You

T
he greatest love story on earth is written in the Bible.

Actually, it
is
the Bible.

The entire Bible is a record of God’s great love for us. One major sign of His love is that He gave us His Word.

After I received the Lord I started going to church to hear the pastor teach from the Bible, and the Scriptures came alive to me right away. At the pastor’s encouragement I went out and bought my own Bible. I had opened up a Bible randomly a few times before but could not understand anything I read. Now, because I had opened my heart to the Lord, my spiritual eyes were opened as well, and I sensed God’s love in every word.

It was far beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

For years I had been searching in the spirit realm for some kind of meaning for my life and a purpose for my existence. Now I saw that I had been plunging into the dark side—the wrong side of that realm—and I needed to come into the light. When I read about Jesus being the light of the world and there is no darkness in Him, I realized that the occult practices and false religions into which I had thrown myself were inhabited by another spirit. A dark spirit. The
spirit of God’s enemy. The opposite of God. Little did I know I had been consorting with the enemy of God.

When I separated myself from all that and walked into the realm of the God of infinite power, peace, and love, it was like night and day by comparison. I didn’t conjure this up. I didn’t imagine anything. It was unmistakable. It was more real than anything I had ever known, even more so than the fear and pain I had lived with for a lifetime. God’s Word became a message of love and hope to me. I thought of it as a precious diamond, and every time I read it I found dazzling new facets. “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure” (Psalm 119:162). Each time I opened the Bible, I asked God to open my eyes to new depths of the truth I had not seen before. And He did.

The Bible became an unending source of life to me. I could hear God speaking to me by His Spirit on every page. And I felt His love each time.

When you enter into a close relationship with God, you will not only love
Him
, you will also love His
Word
. You cannot separate the two. God and His Word are one. That’s because Jesus is the living Word of God, and God and Jesus are one. It was God’s Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the Bible and led them as they wrote it. The more you read God’s Word, the more you will experience God’s love.

Ask God to help you see and understand and sense His love for you in His Word as you read it. It has been written as His love letter to
you.
And the Holy Spirit will bring it alive to you every time.

There are countless ways God shows His love for you in His Word. What follows are only a few of them.

God’s Word Gives You a Way to Make Life Work

God’s laws and commandments are there because He loves us and He wants what is best for us
.
He gives us rules for our benefit
.

Just like any loving parent, God gives us boundaries for our own
good. Indulgent parents, who let their children do anything they want, raise kids with serious problems. You see it all the time. Children without boundaries are unstable. They get out of control. And they
feel
out of control. They misbehave without consequences, so they believe there are no consequences for breaking the rules. Parents who allow children to not follow the rules that exist for their protection don’t do any favors for their children. People generally don’t like children like that and don’t want to be around them. And such children sense that they are not liked and that affects their personality. They develop less than optimal behavior, which leads to more rejection. This happens all because a parent does not love their children enough to give them rules with a requirement to obey them.

All children need to know what the boundaries are in order to survive and do well in life. We are God’s kids, and we, too, need boundaries in order to survive and do well. Without God’s Word, we will be influenced by the anti-Christ-formed
relativism
of the world more than the God-created
revelation
of the Holy Spirit.

Having absolutes in our life is freeing. Parents who love their children give them rules for their protection, and God does the same for
His
children. As a child of God, His laws free you to move into the plans and purposes He has for you. From His Word you find out what works and what
doesn’t
work and never will. You don’t have to wander down paths that will hurt you, rob you, ruin your life, and take you far away from the fulfillment and purpose God has for you.

That’s why God’s Word is His love letter to you.

God’s Word Changes Your Heart and Mind

When you find true and lasting love, it is life-giving. Every time you read your loved one’s messages, they touch you deeply and bring noticeable changes in your heart and soul. You cherish each word and search between the lines for every subtle meaning. The same is
true of God’s love letter to you. The more you read it and search for the deeper meanings, the more you understand His heart of love for you.

Every time you read God’s Word with the idea that it is living and powerful, God will speak to your spirit and soul. If you invite Him to, He will touch you and change you. He will open your eyes to His truth and give you wisdom that will bring you into the realm of the truly wise. With such a strong lying spirit in the world today, God’s Word gives you the truth. And we all need that in order to combat the lies of the enemy and stay on the right path.

“
The law of the L
ORD
is perfect, converting the soul
; the testimony of the L
ORD
is sure,
making wise the simple
; the statutes of the L
ORD
are right,
rejoicing the heart
; the commandment of the L
ORD
is pure,
enlightening the eyes
” (Psalm 19:7-8). You will love that His Word is true and His laws are right. Your heart will rejoice over their absolute dependability.

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ” (Matthew 4:4). We must be continually fed with God’s Word every day because it is sustenance for our soul. We can’t live well without it. It builds us up and changes us from the inside out.

Reading God’s Word gives you clarity of mind and strength of soul. It
builds your faith
. It
provides guidance and direction
. It
encourages you
and
gives you hope
. It
comforts you
and
speaks to you about your value and worth and purpose
. It
gives you wisdom
and
understanding
and
knowledge
. It
helps you find
the
restoration and wholeness
God has for you.

God gave you His Word because He loves you. Always read it with that in mind.

God’s Word Protects You and Guides You to a Place of Safety

God’s Word is like an umbrella of safety for us, but we must know what it says in order to understand how to live under its
protection. When we live opposite of what God’s Word says, we come out from under that protective covering and can wander away from the life God has for us and get shot down by enemy fire.