March 17, 2021 – Food for the Soul

Love means caring, helping, listening, covering an offense, being patient, never envying or boasting(1 Corinthians13:4-7). This kind of love and friendship can only be supernatural. It also means speaking the truth in love when it is necessary (Ephesians 4:15).

Supernatural love comes from Jesus. His love s perfect. His love is perfect because He is love. There will never be anyone on the face of the earth who will love and care for us like Jesus. There is no one on this earth that has power like Jesus. Jesus is patient with us, He is caring to us, His love covers a multitude of sins, does our love cover a multitude of sins, no it does not. If it were not for Jesus showing us love, we would not know how to love, or know what real love is. Jesus speaks to us through the Word with love. He shows us things about ourselves in love, not to hurt us. We may not always like what Jesus tells us, or shows us about ourselves, but it is for our own good. We should not boast about anything but the love of God.

Peter tells us that “Love covers a multitude of sins”(1 Peter 4:8). He echoes the proverb, “Hatred stirs up strife but love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). Some think that one person’s love can blot out another person’s sin. The only love that can cover sin in that sense, is the love of Jesus Christ.

When we think about friendship, we can totally talk about Jesus, because He is a friend that will stick closer than a brother. Jesus will always be with us, but our family members will not, because of whatever the case may be. We do not have ever have to worry about not having a friend in Jesus; He will always be there when no one else is. We can count on Jesus, we cannot always count on our family, because sometimes your family can be your worst enemy. We do not ever have to worry about Jesus turning His back on us, He may not come when we call Him, but He is always on time.

Sometimes when we have to give someone advice, it may not always be taken whole heartedly depending on the way it is said, and who is receiving it, but when we give advice, it is always given in love. The person may not think so at first, but in due time they will see that it was said in love. When Jesus told the disciples what was going to take place when it came time for Him to go back to the Father, the disciples did not understand what He was talking about, they were confused. When time came, when it was all said and done, they understood what Jesus was telling them. He did not tell them what was going to happen to Him to hurt them; although He knew it was, but He told them in love. He knew their hearts would break because of it, but He wanted them to know because they were His friends… they were family. They were always together. They looked out for each other, and they loved one another.

Jesus set the example for us to follow today, but we do not always follow that example. We let anger, hate, jealousy, envy, and strife with one another keep us from doing that. Jesus wants us to love one another just as He loved us then and now…just as He loved the disciples. What greater love can compare to the Love of Jesus. Love sacrificed His life for us. Love opened blind eyes. Love walked on water. Love calmed a raging sea. Love did it all for us. When we feel that no one loves us, we can always know that Jesus loves us. We can always know that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Knowing that brings a smile to my face. Knowing that He laid His life down for me makes my soul jump for joy! There is no love like the love of Jesus, and there is no friend in the world like Jesus.

Let us look at the word caring- 1 Peter 1:22. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.-Ephesians 4:32. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

We should care about what others want, not just what we want. When we do that, we are showing that we care for others just as much as we care for ourselves. We want to see them succeed just as we want to succeed as well. When we do that, it gives that person encouragement, and boosts their confidence to do what they want to do in their lives. Not only that, we are showing and sharing the love of Christ.

Let us look at the word kindness. Kindness is selfless, compassionate, and merciful; its greatest power revealed in practice to our enemies and amongst the least of these. Love your neighbor; show kindness to EVERYONE. For a perfect emblem of Biblical kindness, we need to look no further than Jesus.

When I look at what kindness is, Jesus are all of these things and more. He is more than our minds can fathom. When we learn to be kind like Jesus, we can be kind to our enemies and love them as well. Nevertheless, we have our struggles with being kind to all people, we just have to go to Jesus and ask Him to teach us how to be kind in all aspects of our lives. When we are kind to people, that kindness is returned to us, it may not happen then, but it will. We can have compassion for people; Jesus did. People tried to kill him, but He was still kind and compassionate to everyone, and that is how we should be. We should not let what we go through keep us from being kind and compassionate to people. Everyone needs compassion and kindness in their lives, it is what makes life worth living. It is what makes us feel that we can succeed in life no matter what. Jesus shows us kindness and compassion every time we make mistakes. He forgives us for everything we do wrong, because He knows what we are going to say and do before we say, or do it. Are we quick to forgive others just as Jesus is quick to forgive us? Do we forget about it just as Jesus does? We need to examine ourselves from time to time to see if we are really doing what we are suppose to do as children of the Light. I am talking about the light of Jesus Christ. God gives us a chance every day to be better people. He gives us chance after chance to strive to be more like HIs Son. He knows that we are just human beings. He knows that we are not going to get it right all of the time, so that is why He is here for us to call on.

Let us look at the word Mercy. “Mercy” can be defined as “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power”; and also ” a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion”. “To be at someone’s mercy” indicates a person being “without defense against someone.”

Mercy is a “love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way.” At its core, mercy is forgiveness. The Bible speaks of God’s love for sinners-that is, for all of us. But the Bible also relates mercy to other qualities beyond love and forgiveness.

What would we do without God having mercy on us when we do things wrong? If God did not show us mercy, there would not be any forgiveness. God loved us when we were sinners just as much as He does now, but when we were sinners we were separated from God, but when Jesus came and died for our sins, we were shown mercy and forgiveness. We are all sinners saved by God’s amazing grace! It is nothing that we did to deserve it, but it is the gift of God through His Son Jesus Christ. We should be eternally grateful for it. We should thank God every day for the mercy that HE shows us. We should thank Him for loving us when we were not worth His love, but He sent His one and Only Son to die for our sinful selves.

https://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/merciful.html

By clicking on the link above, you can find out more about the word merciful. It is a wealth of information on it.

The word Selfless has many cross reference Scriptures, so I am just going to list the Scriptures if you should want to explore them on your own time. It will give you a chance to spend some time with Jesus in God’s Word.

Mark 12:31

Galatians 5:14; Leviticus 19:18; James 2:8; Matthew 5:44; Matthew 5:47; Matthew 5:45; Philippians 2:7; Philippians 2:5; Mark 10:45; Luke 22:42; John 3:30; Luke 10:29-37; Luke 10:30; Luke 10:34; Luke 10:34-35; Luke 10:35; Galatians 2:20;

Compassionate is when you are showing someone compassion. It means to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering.

The word Patience means, the quality or virtue is presented as either forbearance or endurance. In the former sense it is a quality of self-restraint or of not giving way to anger, even in the face of provocation; it is attributed o both God and man and is closely related to mercy and compassion.

When I think about it, God did not have to show us any compassion, love, mercy, or grace because of our sins. He did not have to send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, but He did. He could have just gave up on us and let us die in our sins, but He did not do it. When we look at the things we face in life, who do we turn to? Who do we run to? Who does our soul cry our to? When we are at our lowest point in our lives, who do we call on? When we do not know which way to go in life, who gives us direction? When there is nothing in the refrigerator to eat, who provides for us? When we need clothes, and shoes, who do we ask to make a way so we can afford it? Who always comes through? Jesus! He knows everything that we need before we can even realize that we need something. That is why we always thank Him in advance for the things we need. We thank Him for all that He has done, for all that He is doing, and for all that He is going to do in our lives. We thank Him for holding everything together in this world. Most of all we need to thank Him for His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! Stay safe, and God bless. Don’t forget to spend some time with Jesus, He is always waiting and ready to hear from you.