LOVE --- PART 5

WHAT IS LOVE?
John 15:13: Here is how to measure it-the greatest Love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. -- Love is willing to sacrifice for the good of others, even to death.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13: Love is patient and kind... Love does not demand its own way... Love never gives up. --- This famous chapter about Love gives us one of the most eloquent descriptions of Love ever written.

MUST I LOVE OTHER PEOPLE? WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO?
John 13:34: I now am giving you a New Commandment: Love each other. Just as I have Loved you, you should Love each other. 1 John 2:9: Anyone who says, I am in the Light but rejects another believer is still in darkness. John 13:35: Your Love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples. 1 Peter 4:8: Love covers a multitude of sins. 1 John 4:12: If we Love each other, YHVH lives in us and His Love has been brought to full expression through us. -- Being a believer comes with certain expectations and one of them is that we will Love others. Our believe conduct is proof as to whether we Love each other and Loving each other is proof that we belong to Moshiach.

WHAT ARE SOME SPECIAL THINGS THAT COME FROM A LOVING RELATIONSHIP?
Proverbs 10:12: Hatred stirs up quarrels, but Love covers all offenses. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. -- The gifts that come from Love are many. Here are a few:
1 - forgiveness, 2 - patience, 3 - kindness, 4 - Love for truth, 5 - Love for justice, 6 - Love for the best in a person, 7 - loyalty at any cost, 8 - belief in a person no matter what.

Love does not allow for:
A - jealousy, B - envy, C - pride, D - a haughty spirit, E - selfishness, F - rudeness, G - a demand for one’s own way, H - irritability,I - grudges.

WHAT KIND OF LOVE DOES YHVH EXPECT HUSBANDS AND WIVES TO SHOW TO EACH OTHER?
Song of Songs 8:6-7: Place me like a seal over your heart... For Love is as strong as death. -- Song of Songs is a book about the sensuous Love husbands and wives should have for each other. True sensuous Love is a giving Love, not a taking Love, an offering of self rather than a claim to the mate’s self.
Ephesians 5:24-25: As the church submits to Moshiach, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. And you husbands must Love your wives with the same Love Moshiach showed the church. He gave up His life for her. -- After our Love for YHVH, nothing should take greater priority than the giving, sacrificial Love we have for our mate. This Love helps us learn more about how we are to Love Elohim and it is an example to those who are learning about Love.
Hebrews 13:4: Give honour to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage. -- It is essential that before you are married you make a lifetime, irrevocable commitment to stay married. Then when problems come, you won’t be looking for a way out, but a way through.

HOW CAN PARENTS SAY THEY LOVE THEIR CHILDREN WHEN THEY PUNISH THEM?

HOW CAN YHVH SAY HE LOVES ME WHEN HE PUNISHES ME?
Hebrews 12:5-11: Elohim disciplines those He loves... No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening... But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living. -- Discipline as YHVH intended is meant to correct, to keep us from doing the wrong thing, to protect us from harm. It is life-building. That kind of discipline is true Love. Those who don’t discipline don’t really care.

A BELIEVERS LOVE INCLUDES A LOVE FOR ENEMIES.
Matthew 5:43-44: You have heard that the Law of Moses says, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say, Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! -- Only in Moshiach’s Love can we Love enemies.

WHERE CAN I GET A TRUE LOVE FOR OTHERS? WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM?
Colossians 1:8: He is the One Who told us about the great Love for others that Ruach HaKodesh has given you. -- 1 Thessalonians 3:12: May Elohim make your Love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our Love overflows toward you. -- 1 Thessalonians 4:9: YHVH Himself has taught you to Love one another.

HOW DO WE LEARN TO RECEIVE LOVE?
John 13:1-8: No, Peter protested, You will never wash my feet! Yeshua replied, But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to Me. -- We cannot receive YHVH’s Love until we put aside our pride and self-sufficiency.
Philippians 3:4-11: I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey YHVH’s Law, but I trust Moshiach to save me. -- When we cease our striving to impress YHVH with our accomplishments we are able to trust His gracious gift of Love.
Luke 18:15-17: Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of YHVH belongs to such as these. -- Yeshua encourages us to learn to receive His Love with the trust of little children.
Hosea 2:19-20: I will be faithful to you and make you Mine and you will finally know Me as Adonai. YHVH’s Love is absolutely faithful. We will know the benefits and security of that Love when we commit ourselves to faithfulness as well.

WE ARE TO LOVE YHVH.
Deuteronomy 6:5: You must Love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. Joshua 22:5: Love YHVH your Elohim, walk in all His Ways, obey His Commands, be faithful to Him. Mark 12:28-31: Yeshua replied: The most important Commandment is this: ...you must Love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. -- YHVH wants us to Love Him, not for His benefit, but for ours. He does however, require that Love for Him be complete -- with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Psalm 116:1: I love YHVH because He hears and answers my prayers. -- We Love YHVH because He listens to us.
1 John 3:1: See how very much our heavenly Father Loves us. 1 John 4:19: We love each other as a result of His Loving us first. -- We Love YHVH because He Loves us.
John 15:10-11: When you obey Me, you remain in My Love... I have told you this so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! -- We love God because doing so will bring overflowing joy to our lives.

DOES YHVH REALLY LOVE ME? HOW CAN I KNOW?
Hosea 2:19: I will make you My wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. John 3:16: YHVH so Loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 1 John 4:7-12: YHVH showed how much He Loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real Love. Romans 5:5: YHVH has given us Ruach HaKodesh to fill our hearts with His Love. Romans 8:35-39: Nothing can ever separate us from His Love.

HOW SHOULD WE SHOW OUR LOVE TO YHVH?
Matthew 10:42: If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded. -- We show our Love for YHVH by showing our Love to needy people whom Elohim loves.
John 14:21: Those who obey My Commandments are the ones who Love Me. -- We show our Love for Elohim by obeying Him.
John 21:15-17: Do you Love Me? ... feed My lambs ... take care of my sheep ... feed my sheep. Hebrews 6:10: He will not forget ... how you have shown your Love to Him by caring for other believers. -- We show our Love for YHVH by guiding and helping Yeshua’s followers.
Psalm 122:1: I was glad when they said to me: Let us go to the House of Elohim. -- We show our Love for Elohim by worshiping Him and praising Him for His Love to us.