The Demands of Love

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Good morning, Lord

Father in Heaven, I seek You first-the knowledge of Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Fill my consciousness constantly and complete Your joy in me as I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name…

Memory verse: Jeremiah 15:19 ESV

Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.” 

Verse of the day: Psalm 94:18-19

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Daily reading: Psalm 113-115 1 Corinthians 6 

The Demands of Love

God is love(1 John 4:8) and so Jesus is love and we have the Holy Spirit of Truth living in us-so divine love lives in us. God’s love in us must be realized and learned. God’s love is ever giving and so must be ‘released’ or utilized and, to me, must be satisfied or fulfilled. It must be used and invested and given. If I withhold God’s love, I feel unsatisfied. That is because our hearts are made by God for God. We have the mind of Christ(1 Corinthians 2:16). God’s love is like a horse that loves to run. It cannot be stabled and be fulfilled in us.

Jesus taught us to love those who hate us, curse us, strike us, take our things and even would kill us.(Matt. 5:44 ;Luke 6:27;Luke 6:28; Luke 6:29;Luke 11:49 )

This may be really hard to truly ‘live out’ because we have not understood the basic part Jesus taught us.

Matthew 5:47  “And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”

Matthew 6:33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.”

The Jews taught that they should not even acknowledge pagans. Jesus taught the opposite. Jesus wanted us to reason-”What Grace of God have I shown-how have I satisfied the high energy love of God by not at least greeting the stranger-even if they act like I don’t exist?”

Can’t you feel the love of God trying to get out and run? This is the point. If we cannot feel it, we have much soul searching to do. We have much kingdom and righteousness searching to do.

That’s what this life is all about-letting God’s love run-even when we get our feelings hurt. If we do it continually, we will learn it is not about us and our ‘feelings’. It is about God and His yearning love. His love-God Himself-yearns to be spread as far and as much as we can in each of our lives.

It is time for all of us to look deeper at our motives. If what we do and what we ‘feel’ is not in His perfect love, it is not done or felt as He wills it.

Get in front of God and ask Him to show you your motives and change forever what needs to be changed in your heart.

...because He loves you, He will do it…

Father in Heaven,

Your name makes Your kingdom real in our lives. Your love leads us to obey You. Give me today what You know I need. Forgive me for not loving as I should. Lead me away from my ‘hurt feelings’.

Father of light and love,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen