I Love the Lord!

Praise God & smile! And do not forget to give. We stand by faith. Matthew 6:30. If you have faith & doubt not, you can say to the mountain, “Be moved,” and it shall be done. Increase our faith; Luke 17: 5-6 “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

The greatest gift you can give someone is your time and heart. Again and again throughout the Holy Word of God, we see that most everything we receive from the Lord begins with our giving!

God Himself began the whole plan of our salvation by giving: “For God so loved the world that he gave…” John 3:16. And to receive this greatest gift, we have to give our hearts! How we love Jesus’ own words: “Give, and it shall be given…” Luke 6:38.

The apostle Paul praised the Philippian church because they had learned the great principle of “giving and receiving”. Philippians 4:15. King Hezekiah gave his personal wealth to open and repair the temple of God and as a result God defeated his Assyrian enemies, healed him of a fatal disease (adding fifteen years to his life), and made him one of the richest kings, next to only Solomon. Chronicles 32: 27-29.

FAITH MAKES THE DECISIONS.

By faith Moses esteemed, “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” Hebrews 11:26. Moses knew God had something far better than Egypt up ahead: “a city whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:26. See, Moses gave up his princeship and all the riches he possessed. He was a prince, the adopted son of pharaoh’s daughter, and was certainly in line of succession to become the next pharaoh!

A lesson to learn here is more value than a diamond or gold. We should all give more time, more love to one another – love God – have faith in your Maker. “We will be evaluated on our love, so make love the goal of your life.” One of the ways God measures Spiritual maturity is by the quality of your relationships. In heaven God won’t say, “Tell me about your job, bank account, and career.” Instead, He will review how you treated others, particularly those in need. Jesus said the way to love Him is to love His family and care for their practical needs. “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he who honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” Proverbs 14:31. I John 3:17 tells you: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” Jesus said, “…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40. Now, God favors us and blesses us who love their brother & sister. Jesus said our love for each other – not doctrinal beliefs – is our greatest witness to the world. He said our strong love for each other will prove to the world that we are His disciples.”

The Bible tells us to let love be your greatest aim.

Life without love is worthless. Paul made the point that no matter what he said, what he believed, and what he did, he was bankrupt without love. Brothers & Sisters – we give without loving, but you can not love without giving. “For God so loved the world that he gave …” Love means giving up – yielding my references, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else. The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

Brothers & Sisters, I pray for you day in and day out; that each of you gets it just as I have. “Something happened to me: the man that I used to be is gone. He gave up his life so I could live on.”

-May our Lord be with you and bless you,

Brother Marion Dobbs