volume 8, issue 1 - all glorious within 8, issue 1 all glorious within f ... magazine format: all...

VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1

All Glorious Within

FFRUITRUIT OFOF THETHE S SPIRITPIRIT, P, PARTART O ONENE::

~ Love ~JANUARY-APRIL 2013

IN THIS ISSUE:

A publication to inspire Christian young ladies in their walk with Christ

GOD: The Source of LOVEby Trishia Plett

There is No Fear in Loveby Amy Vest

Loveby Anna Hilton, with Lisa Bode

Walking in Loveby Lisa Bode

“The King's daughter is all glorious within . . .” Psalm 45:13

Diamonds in the Roughby Jane Eberly

Loveby Rosina Miller

What Makes It Love?by Heather Martin

Numerous Quotes on Love

~Scriptures, Devotionals,Poems, and More ~

What is Love?by Mrs. Zakula

In His Loveby Holly Hageman

A Personal Paraphraseof I Corinthians 13by Karissa Hiebert

The Proof of Your Loveby Mrs. Zakula

For a limited time, we are offering a sample issue & brochure FREE to anyone you know who might be interested in a sample issue.

All Glorious Within: Volume 8, Issue 1 (January-April 2013) ~ Fruit of the Spirit: “Love”

About All Glorious WithinAll Glorious Within is a publication for Christian

young ladies that began in January 2006. It is compiled, edited, and published three times per year by Karissa Hiebert. Co-editors are Abe and Bernice Hiebert, who approve and improve each issue, giving many suggestions and much valued advice.

We welcome new subscribers! If you have friends or relatives that might be interested in receiving All Glorious Within, you may request brochures or sample issues for them.

All Glorious Within is non-profit; subscription rates are minimal just to help cover costs of postage and printing. Free brochures available upon request. Gift certificates also available.

Our MissionOur goal is to provide conservative, wholesome

reading material to inspire girls in their Christian walk, with an endeavor to maintain the centrality of Jesus Christ. If you have questions or concerns, please let us know personally about them. Sugges-tions are appreciated!

If you come across anything in All Glorious Within that is unBiblical, opinionated, or does not pass the tests of Philippians 4:8 and Colossians 2:8, please let us know about it. (Note that we do not necessarily endorse every word of each article.)

This issue of this publication has been approved by the co-editors, my parents (Abe and Bernice Hiebert).

Contact InformationBox 2

Lowe Farm, MBR0G 1E0

1 (204) [email protected]

~ Website ~

www.allgloriouswithin.org

Submissions We gladly welcome submissions . . . please send

articles, poetry, testimonies, reviews, homemaking tips, recipes, wedding/baby announcements, and other such contributions! We do not publish advertisements.

All submissions must be approved by the co-editors (editor’s parents), and we ask that everything submitted be honoring to the Lord, based on the Word of God, and corresponding to Philippians 4:8. Please include information such as titles, authors, and publishers’ information, where applicable. Thank you.

Back Issues AvailableTo help cover costs of printing and postage, please include

a donation with your order if possible. Thank you! Note – some issues may not be available.Christian Chronicle (previous publication, 3 column format):Volume 2, Issue 3: Infatuation vs. Integrity Volume 2, Issue 4: Home Life Volume 2, Issue 5: Humility All Glorious WithinVolume 1, Issue 1: Speech MAGAZINE FORMAT:All Glorious WithinVolume 1, Issue 2: Hospitality, Thriftiness, CreativityVolume 1, Issue 3: Boldness, Enthusiasm, Initiative Volume 1, Issue 4: Sensitivity, Sincerity Volume 2, Issue 1: Discretion, DiscernmentVolume 2, Issue 2: Reverence, Deference, ToleranceVolume 2, Issue 3: VirtueVolume 2, Issue 4: Neatness, Orderliness, PunctualityVolume 3, Issue 1: Faithful Time StewardshipVolume 3, Issue 2: Honesty, Integrity, TrustworthinessVolume 3, Issue 3: Perseverance, Endurance, DiligenceVolume 3, Issue 4: Responsibility, Dependability, ConsistencyVolume 4 Issue 1: Missions (Special Issue)Volume 4, Issue 2: Determination, Purpose, CourageVolume 5, Issue 1: Gratefulness, AppreciationVolume 5, Issue 2: His StrengthVolume 5, Issue 3: Trials, Afflictions (Special Issue)Volume 6, Issue 1: Compassion, Care, MercyVolume 6, Issue 2: Submission, Honor, RespectVolume 6, Issue 3: Security, Confidence, StabilityVolume 7, Issue 1: ContentmentVolume 7, Issue 2: A Kept HeartVolume 7, Issue 3: Wisdom

Submission Deadline for Next Issue: July 15, 2013

2 For contact information, please see inside cover. For subscription rates, please see back cover (page 40).


FEATURES THIS ISSUE 3QUOTES BY AMY CARMICHAEL 3LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 4YOU WON'T REACH IT ON TIPTOE (O. Chambers) 5LOVE (Devotional by Rosina Miller) 5GOD: THE SOURCE OF LOVE (by Trishia Plett) 6DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH (Devotional, Jane Eberly) 8I CORINTHIANS 13 9A PERSONAL PARAPHRASE OF I COR. 13 (by Karissa) 10QUOTES BY AMY CARMICHAEL 11JESUS, I AM RESTING, RESTING (Hymn) 11THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE (by Amy Vest) 12QUOTES/BELOVED, LET US LOVE 13LOVE (by Anna Hilton, with Lisa Bode) 14QUOTES 16A CHAPTER ON BEAUTY (by Heather Martin) 16SCRIPTURES ON LOVE 17WHAT MAKES IT LOVE? (by Heather Martin) 23QUOTES 23WHAT IS LOVE? (by Mrs. Zakula) 24HIS PERFECT LOVE (Poem by Havilah Worden) 25QUOTES 25THE PROOF OF YOUR LOVE (by Mrs. Zakula) 26QUOTES/A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE 27HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CARRIED AWAY FOR HIM? 28FATHER, MAKE US LOVING (Flora Kirkland) 28IN HIS LOVE (by Holly Hageman) 29QUOTE, POEM 30THE LOVE OF CHRIST (Poem, Annie Johnson Flint) 31LOVE AT HOME (Hymn by John McNaughton) 31TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST (by Lisa Bode) 32HYMNS & QUOTES 35IS IT AGAPE LOVE? (by Karissa) 35HERE IS LOVE (Hymn) 36QUOTES BY AMY CARMICHAEL 36WALKING IN LOVE (by Lisa Bode ) 37QUOTES BY AMY CARMICHAEL 39THE SPONTANAEITY OF LOVE (Oswald Chambers) 39NEXT ISSUE'S THEME, SUBSCRIPTION INFO 40

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f a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. (For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.)”

“If I am inconsiderate about the comfort of others, or their feelings, or even of their little weaknesses; if I am careless about their little hurts and miss opportunities to smooth their way; if I make the sweet running of household wheels more difficult to accomplish, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If my interest in the work of others is cool; if I think in terms of my own special work; if the burdens of others are not my burdens too, and their joys mine, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If the love that 'alone maketh light of every heavy thing, and beareth evenly every uneven thing' is not my heart's desire, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“One can give without loving, but one cannot“One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving.”love without giving.”

Deep unto deep, O Lord, crieth in me,Deep unto deep, O Lord, crieth in me,Gathering strength I come, Lord, unto Thee.Gathering strength I come, Lord, unto Thee.

Jesus of Calvary, smitten for me,Jesus of Calvary, smitten for me,Ask what Thou wilt, but give love to me.Ask what Thou wilt, but give love to me.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEThe above quotes and poem are by AmyAmy

CarmichaelCarmichael. We recommend her book entitled If for further thoughts related to the subject of “Love.”

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEThis issue's strawberry photo by the Hiebert family. Designing by Karissa Hiebert.

For contact information, please see inside cover. For subscription rates, please see back cover (page 40). 3

FeaturesFeatures this Issuethis Issue

“I


reetings in the name of our King and wel-come to the 24th issue of All Glorious Within . . . and the beginning of our Fruit of the Spirit series! “Love” is certainly a big topic, and I thought we might end up having to split it into two issues, but instead we squeezed our content into a larger issue than most. ☺ We are still accepting your fruit photos for the front covers of this series, as well as any submissions you may have.

Some notes and thoughts from some messages I've heard in the past few years:

"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more . . ." I Thess. 4:9-10

Agape love ~ selfless, sacrificial love – love that costs us something, causes us to invest more than is comfortable, to give more love than we will get in return . . . this is the kind of love God wants us to increase more and more in.

Loving selflessly when someone has hurt me is to love them more and more. This is where relationships meet reality. This is more than getting along. It's not an agreeing on everything. It's a labor of love. It's a love that loves through hurts. Not just to continue but also to increase. Not to build up walls and give a cold shoulder, even if I'm hurt and it seems 'fair'!

*Your love for others is proof of your love for God.*Matthew 7:12 – "Therefore all things whatsoever ye

would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." This verse gives no guarantee of return. Sometimes we give with the expectation that we will reap the same. Sometimes that is how it works, but God is calling us to lay down all our own expectations and rights. Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes we will give but won't get back. Am I willing? Am I willing to give my

all with NO expectations back? Am I willing to love and give and pour myself out for others even if I am not loved in return to the same extent, even if my efforts are not returned or appreciated as I would like? Am I willing to totally lay myself down? To disregard my own feelings, needs, desires, and expectations, and love with a completely selfless, sacrificial love? Oh for more of that love! "A love that does not sacrifice is no love at all."

Love keeps no record of wrongs . . . what a truly profound statement! In refusing to let go of what has hurt me, I am actually holding a record of wrongs. Love covers a multitude of offenses, love forgives unconditionally, over and over, unreservedly. True love takes a wrong or a hurt and completely lays it aside. It's as if it never happened, never was said, etc. and so it has no effect.

"With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 E

“The way of love is never an easy way. If our hearts be set on walking in that way we must be prepared to suffer.”

~ Amy Carmichael ~

“Love for self results in the abandonment of others;

Love for others results in theabandonment of self.”

~ Shirlisa Christner ~

“Love those who least deserve it, for they are the ones who need it most.”


Letter from Letter from the Editorthe Editor

G


“Add to your brotherliness . . . love.” 2 PETER i. 7.

ove is indefinite to most of us, we do not know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the sovereign preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that that preference be for Himself (cf. Luke xiv. 26). When the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ is easily first; then we must practise the working out of these things mentioned by Peter.

The first thing God does is to knock pretence and the pious pose right out of me. The Holy Spirit reveals that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now, He says to me, show the same love to others –“Love as I have loved you.” “I will bring any number of people about you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited it to you.” You won't reach it on tip-toe. Some of us have tried to, but we were soon tired.

“The Lord suffereth long. . . .” Let me look within and see His dealings with me. The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way. God's love to me is inexhaustible, and I must love others from the bedrock of God's love to me. Growth in grace stops the moment I get huffed. I get huffed because I have a peculiar person to live with. Just think how disagreeable I have been to God! Am I prepared to be so identified with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness are being poured out all the time? Neither natural love nor Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline. E p. 132, May 11th

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEETaken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, © l935 by Dodd Mead & Co., renewed © 1963 by the Oswald Chambers Publications Assn., Ltd. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids MI 4950l. All rights reserved.

READ: I Corinthians 13

ove is wiping up the just-washed floor after your brother tracked mud all over it. It is patiently scrubbing stains in your dress that your sister borrowed. It is getting a drink for your little brother for the sixth time.

Love is cheerfully performing dull tasks. It is not seeking praise, or crediting yourself for good deeds. It is doing your best without expecting anything in return.

Love is deferring to the wishes of others. It is staying home with the family even when you long for a break. It is following the wishes of authority, and doing even more than what is required. Love is not desperate for its own way.

Love is kind. It is offering compliments for jobs well done. Love is believing in others, and sharing in their suffering, even though it means opening your heart to pain. Love is not talking only of yourself, it is not superior. It is listening to other's point of view, and when a storm of words passes, it gently separates the chaff from the wheat. It is not fastening yourself to someone well-liked, to pursue popularity. Love does not desire to be noticed. Love is unselfish, and still gives when there is nothing left to give.

Love grows slowly. It is not the rush of feeling, the quick beating heart, the self-conscious blush. It does not spurt wildly, then wilt. Love is an un-conscious blossoming. It is not dependent on cir-cumstances. It does not make you act unnatural, or appear bright when your heart is heavy. Love is stable, and urges spiritual growth. It flows directly from the King of Love.

Love is a decision. Love is eternal. Many waters cannot quench love. E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFrom Harmony for the Heart, compiled by Elaine Berry,p. 107. Used by permission from Green Pastures Press.


You Won't ReachYou Won't Reach it on Tiptoe it on Tiptoe

E E E E E EE E E E E E

by Oswald Chambersby Oswald Chambers

LoveLoveE E E E E EE E E E E E

by Rosina Millerby Rosina Miller

L L


ou can do all the best things for all your friends, family, and enemies, but if you lack LOVE you could just as well have left everything undone.

You can try to make love grow in your heart for your friends, family, and enemies, but if you don't have Jesus as your Saviour you won't ever be able to grow real love because “love is of God” (1 John 4:7). Certainly it's possible to do nice, loving things in an unsaved condition – some people seem to be born that way – but the truest, realest depth of love cannot and will never be reached until you have made the King of Love, King of your life.

I never dreamed I'd be rewriting my rough draft at a kitchen table and most certainly not at someone else's house in the middle of the night! But I am. I had to smile a bit as I packed my paper and my rough draft as I reflected upon the first paragraph. I asked myself, “Are you doing this out of love?”

Let me explain: A family from my church was driving home when their 3 month old baby suddenly stopped breathing. To make a long story short: The parents are at the hospital with the baby and I am at their home with the other 6 children. And by the way, I hardly know them! ☺

It's truly a really thought provoking thought in the first paragraph. 'If I lack LOVE I could just as well leave what I'm doing right now, undone.' And truly, I believe that is true.

I won't digress from my original thoughts any further even though I could choose to get uncharacteristically practical. And go on and on about how I can live out love where I am . . . but I won't. In truth, I don't want to: for one, t'would not be like me; for another, I don't think it would be a long-lasting blessing.

Recently I was trying to follow the Scriptures about giving of this world's goods (1 John 3:17).

It seemed that every time I read in the Bible something would bring out the importance of giving (money). I was determined to at least do my part. But truly I hadn't done much before I was left wondering why I didn't feel blessed and wondering why it didn't seem as though God was leading me. In utter discouragement about that and a myriad of other things, I deviated from my normal devotions and read and meditated on 1 Corinthians 13.

Verse one gave me much to think about, but I did my best to push my thoughts from it as far away as possible and continued on through the chapter. Verse three took me completely by surprise and I was nearly blown away. Verse three reads: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor . . . and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing. I stopped and read it over again. I tried to move along past but the verse was just THERE! It wouldn't move and I always saw it. Finally I just said (in my heart/mind): “I think God is trying to speak to me.” So I went back to the verse, read it through again, and prayed about it.

Nearly in the instant I asked God to show me what He was trying to show/tell me in that verse, it became totally clear that I had not been giving with the right attitude, or for the right reason. Yes, I wanted to obey the Scriptures but I lacked the key ingredient: LOVE. I repented and asked the Lord to lead me in that area from then on.

This was not the only lesson God wanted me to learn that day from 1 Corinthians 13. The other lesson God had for me was one I fought for a while. It came out of verse one.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. I read it and thought: If I talk really nicely and bring out a


LOVELOVEE E E E E EE E E E E E

by Trishia Plettby Trishia Plett

GOD: TheGOD: The Source ofSource of

Y


point (of view) so everyone sees (and understands) my point, but if I don't love, it's pointless. Ouch!! But the thought wouldn't leave me even when I told myself: “the verse is NOT meaning that!”

“Well Trish, if not that, then what does it mean for you right now?”

You see, I was trying to talk nicely and striving to stay calm when my point of view went un-noticed and sometimes it sort of worked. Sort of. But God wanted more. He wanted me to LOVE, not just be nice.

Since then it has seemed almost more difficult to speak lovingly. I've wondered why and have come to a conclusion: Now I am looking to God for love, whereas before I was trying to love in my own abilities. If I am trying to love in my own abilities I will not encounter spiritual battle because the devil likes for me to try (to love) in my own abilities. But as soon as God is acknow-ledged as the source of love, the devil puts on a fight. But, oh dear sisters, take heart! The Lord never lost a battle and will never lose one either. With the King of Love fighting the battle to love, you will love, with real love!

In this day of synthetic almost everything, we shouldn't be surprised to think of synthetic love. Oh, that sounds disgusting, doesn't it? It just about makes me get itchy. Some people are allergic to sodium benzoate while others (like me) don't even notice this preservative. But shouldn't we all be allergic to synthetic love in our own hearts and lives? Real love won't ever go extinct or get polluted, genetically modified, or outdated. True, there are many false loves in the world today; some look just about like the real thing and you might wonder: How will I ever know if I truly love?

First of all: Stop trying to love alone. Actually, don't try at all. Acknowledge your inability to truly love, thus acknowledging your need of God, the Source of Love.

Then: Love as Christ has loved you. And I promise you, you can never love so deeply without Christ.

And live “happily ever after”? T'would be lovely, but if it were so I don't think the Bible would have so many reminders about loving.

As I already implied, the devil doesn't want us to love; by choosing to love we are also choosing spiritual warfare. Obviously it won't always be easy. War is not fought sitting in an easy chair, chewing your favorite flavour of chewing gum, and reading devotional books. Life's easy when all is peace and quiet around you. What about when your little siblings crowd around you, grab your arms and hands in childish affection, and giggle and bounce on your bed? One sibling stands as close as possible and begins asking questions and the youngest sibling joins the fun and bounces on the bed asking whether or not you have chocolate and where it is.

I did not fantasize the above example! Some-times it's easy to respond lovingly; other times I feel as though I can't love them at all. And oh, I

feel so bad when I even think about telling them to leave me alone. Little Brother wants chocolate . . . “No, it will soon be dinner time,” he doesn't whine or ask again (but

keeps snooping). Little Sister just wants to sit as close to me as possible, bounce around, and giggle, and my other, not-so-little-anymore, Little Sister just wants to play with my hand as she talks about everything and nothing with frequent, off-the-topic questions.

As I write this, it all sounds quite endearing, fun, and cute. Sadly, I don't always think it is when it happens. It is in those times when I realize that for me to love is only going to happen if I see my need of Christ's love.

I'm the oldest sibling at home now. The responsibility is amazing. In this context one of my goals is to be the best, most loving big sister my siblings ever had so that if I ever get married or move away from home I will be deeply missed. I don't want to be: “Bossy, annoying Trishia; I'm so glad she's gone!” (by the way, some people know me for my ability in bossiness . . .)


Love is from God and I believe the outworking

of God's love in us starts right at home.


I want to be an example of the believers . . . to my siblings, because who I am to my siblings is who I believe I truly am.

If any man says he loves God and hates his brother, this man is a liar and the love of God is not in him. (I John 3:16-17, 4:20, etc.)

Love is from God and I believe the outworking of God's love in us starts right at home. E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEETrishia writes:I enjoy cooking, it doesn't

matter if it's for only two or organizing for eighty! The kitchen of any house is quick to become my favorite spot. I also enjoy serving my family and our guests.

I consider it a blessing that I have completed 11th grade and started 12th. I hope to someday complete 12th grade, but for

now I'm just really thankful that I am better prepared to explain math and English concepts than I used to be.

I am 19, living at home with my family and loving it! ☺

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*Editor's note: Trishia is a good family friend and also the

sister of Judith, whose wedding announcement was in 7.3.

READ: Matthew 18:2-6

t's sometimes hard to recognize them as diamonds. Their edges are rough, they're often dirty, and by their appearance, they could hardly pass as diamonds.

But yet they are.They hang about the house – inconveniencing

me, frustrating me, and annoying me. They don't act like diamonds.

But yet they are.Right now they're irritating me. I'm sitting in

front of our house, trying to catch some early spring rays and writing this. They're playing ball, insisting on playing ball, too close to the house (and me). I've nearly been hit twice and feel about as comfortable as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

They're diamonds in the rough, all right.Siblings can be so downright bothersome, often

puzzling, and sometimes very honest. At the time of this writing, I teach grades one through five in our little schoolhouse here on the ranch. It's awkward balancing the role of teacher/sister. Once, when things just weren't going well, I decided we must do some evaluating. So I asked my pupils what I should do to be a better teacher. Their answers were revealing: “Be more patient. Don't get disgusted. Don't be grouchy.”

I think I know what I need to work on. And I think I could do well to carry that advice from the role of “teacher” to the one of “sister.”

What big sister hasn't been impatient? (“Hurry up so we can finish!”) Or disgusted? (“Come on, can't you do better than that?”) Or grouchy? (“Leave me alone, I just woke up.”)

Can I overlook my siblings' mistakes, their imperfections, their childish ways? Can't I love them in spite of sticky hands, dirty sinks, and rude burps? Yes! After all, I am a diamond in the rough myself. God isn't finished working on me yet. He surely will make all things beautiful in HIS time.

I must do better. I must be patient, pleasant, interested in their lives. I cannot brush them aside like pesky mosquitoes. They're God's jewels and they're very precious in their own unique way. The Bible teaches us to look to them as our examples, to believe with the simplicity they do. “For of such,” said Jesus, “is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFrom Harmony for the Heart, compiled by Elaine Berry,

pp. 108-109. Used by permission from Green Pastures Press.


Diamonds Diamonds in thein the

RoughRoughby Jane Eberlyby Jane Eberly

I

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.” ~ Elbert Hubbard ~

I want to be an example of the believers . . . to my siblings, because who I am to my siblings is who I believe I truly am.


hough I know more than one language, and can communicate well with people in eloquent speech and writing, and though I can pray in some profound or eloquent way – but have not love, I am simply as an echo that fades away, not leaving lasting impressions of Christ on others' hearts.

And though I am very gifted in many areas, and can expound on the Word of God in an effectual way, and have the gift of discernment and under-standing, and am looked up to for my knowledge and wisdom, and have much insight, perception, and knowledge; and though my faith be great and unshakable, so great that I could actually remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

And though I am generous with what I own, and would even bestow it all to feed the poor, and though I go out every week witnessing on the streets, and though I am willing to die a martyr's death, but have not love, it profits me nothing at all.

For true love, love that works itself out in action, love that springs from the Source of Love, love that displays Christ – love suffers long. It bears injustice, sorrow, petty annoyances, pain, false accusations, delays, and anything else . . . love is patient. ~ Love is kind and gentle, always responding in a Christlike, sweet, unruffled, magnanimous way. It speaks in a gentle tone and puts others' preferences and ways above its own. ~ Love does not envy. It is not jealous. It rejoices in the successes, friendships, delights, blessings, circumstances, and talents of others. It does not criticize and condemn others when it is less privileged. ~ Love does not act rashly but thinks before speaking or acting. It does not act on whim or emotion, but on faith and godly principle. ~ Love is not proud and does not boast in itself or its achievements, talents, successes, circumstances,

character, wisdom, or anything else of itself. Love doesn't talk about itself or focus on itself in conversation or lifestyle. Love isn't vain, puffed up, conceited, or full of itself. It doesn't think of itself higher than it ought to.

Love does not behave itself in an unseemly or unfitting manner. It is wise and does not do or say what it will later regret. It behaves itself in a godly way. ~ Love does not seek her own interests, goals, desires, pursuits, success, comfort, pleasure, wealth, reputation, etc. It looks on the things of others, investing in others – actively seeking their best and serving them joyfully. It puts aside its own plans so that others may reach their goals. ~ Love is not easily provoked; it bears teasing, criticism, and irritations with joy and patience, returning love for hatred or annoyance. ~ Love thinks no evil or idle thoughts; it thinks good, profitable, pure, lovely, Christ-centered, joyful thoughts; it does not think lowly or critical thoughts of another, but gracious thoughts. It gives the benefit of a doubt and does not jump to conclusions.

Love does not rejoice when others fall, but seeks to help them up. It is burdened by others' loads and struggles. Love does not rejoice in its own iniquity, take it lightly, joke about it, or justify it; instead, it falls to its knees in humble repentance over every area, from great to very 'small,' that the Spirit of God sheds light on – for it desires to be pleasing to God and to be like Jesus. ~ Love rejoices in the truth. It rejoices when a soul is converted, when someone gains victory in some area, when others change, and even when others are promoted. Love pours itself into the Word of God, rejoices at a newfound truth, and is willing and eager to apply it to its life, no matter the cost.


A PersonalA Personal ParaphraseParaphrase

of 1 Cor. 13of 1 Cor. 13E E E E E EE E E E E E

by Karissa Hiebertby Karissa Hiebert

T


Love bears all things. It bears the burdens of others. It bears the trials of life. It bears all irritations, difficulties, and unlovable people.

Love believes all things. It is childlike and pure, full of faith. It does not wallow in unbelief. It believes the Lord is sovereign and has a purpose in every circumstance. It believes the Lord can change someone's life.

Love hopes all things. It sees the potential in the most impossible or unlovable person and keeps praying for them. It is positive. It looks up to God. It speaks hope into others' lives. It is not unrealistic, but hopeful. It has a perspective of its future heavenly hope and lives in a way that is always prepared for the coming of the Lord – purifying itself as the Bride of Christ.

Love endures all things. It is a good soldier in the spiritual battle. It carries its cross and doesn't try to take the easy road. It endures persecution, mocking, misunderstanding, injustice, irritations, and trials. It is faithful and endures temptation.

Love never fails! All else will vanish away – any gifts, merit, knowledge, or reputation – but love will never fail.

I no longer want to be as a child in my Christian experience and understanding. I want to step forward in maturity and take up my cross. I want love to permeate my very being. For to truly live out this love takes maturity, and it is ONLY by the grace of God.

We can see just a glimpse of the whole picture – as if through very tinted glass – but one day we will see Christ face to face, and it will be worth it all!

And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three . . .but the greatest of these is love.

~ Love is willing to sacrifice. Do I truly love the Lord? Is HIS love truly flowing through my life to others? ~

Love through me, Love of God;Make me like Thy clear air

Through which, unhindered, colors passAs though it were not there.

Powers of the love of God,Depths of the heart divine,

O Love that faileth not, break forth, And flood this world of Thine.

~ Amy Carmichael ~

What do I know of Calvary love? E

November 21, 2008

f interruptions annoy me, and private cares make me impatient; if I shadow the souls about me because I myself am shadowed, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If souls can suffer alongside, and I hardly know it, because the spirit of discernment is not in me, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I have not compassion on my fellow-servant, even as my Lord had pity on me, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” Amy Carmichael E

esus, I am resting, restingIn the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatnessOf Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming powerThou hast made me whole.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,Satisfies my heart –

Satisfies its deepest longings,Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings:Thine is love indeed! E

~ Jean Sophia Pigott ~


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here is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear...” - 1 John 4:18

What a precious thing a heart of love for others is! A person with a heart of love for others is some-one we are drawn to and admire. One with this heart can change the world around them and impact eternity. Yet, how do we develop this priceless gift in our lives?

A heart of love for others is something that I believe we all desire to have. We know that loving others is to be a vital part of our lives – is it not one of the two greatest commandments that our Savior gave to us? First, and definitely most important, He commanded us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then He commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

It is amazing how incredibly hand-in-hand these two go! As we love the Lord with all our hearts, love for others comes naturally. But when we divide our focus between the Lord and ourselves, our spring of love for others is quenched. For in loving the Lord and ourselves (which we naturally tend toward in our old nature), our eyes are focused not only on Him and pleasing Him, but also on ourselves and pleasing ourselves. As a result, we begin to be very concerned about what others think of us.

It is at this place where we begin to care what others think, that the fear of man sneaks in and starts its devastating effect. We begin to become consumed with what others are thinking of us, or what they might think if we do or say something. If you are like me, we tend to try to excuse this as seeking not to offend them. (Of course, this is not saying to always speak your mind to everyone on every matter. Rather, it is simply not fearing what they will think when you walk in obedience to the Lord and His leading in your life.)

I have found that when I am solely seeking to please the Lord, and am fearing Him alone, that His love flows through all I do in a way that no one is offended. (That is, except for those the Lord convicts.) It is so freeing!

I strongly believe that the fear of man is one of Satan’s greatest tools to inhibit us from being all that the Lord meant for us to be. When we are fearing the Lord alone and seeking only to please Him, He uses us as an incredible vessel of His love for others. This is the answer, my friends! This is where we find the incredible joy and freedom in loving others – in fearing the Lord alone and being a vessel through which the Lord will love others.

These are the two key things: first fearing the Lord alone, loving Him with all of our heart, and living solely to please Him; and, secondly, surrendering ourselves fully as a vessel through which He will love others.

Being a vessel is a vital part of having a heart of love for others. Our own love is so small and shallow, so conditional and changeable, so empty and easily exhausted. Yet, our Savior’s love is so great and deep, so endless, so unconditional and changeless, so true and pure, so constant and fulfilling. His love is designed to fill the needs of every heart; yet, if we are not a clear vessel, His love will not flow freely through us.

Our job is to be a vessel that is pure, surrendered, and free from the fear of man. When we are in this state, the Lord will fill us with His love, and we can truly have a heart of love for others. It is so precious!

In my life I have found such freedom in coming before the Lord daily and surrendering myself to Him. I then ask Him to fill me with His love and to allow it to flow and radiate from me. The results are so incredible, because the Lord does His amazing work, and I can take no credit because I was only a vessel. The rewards are mine, but the glory is His!

As we ask the Lord to fill us with His perfect love, we will begin to see people and life from a different light. His perfect love in us motivates us not to be selfish – it is only concerned with the good of the one being loved. Would the Lord’s perfect love allow someone He has brought into our life to die without ever hearing the good news


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of His salvation? Could true love draw back at the chance to share a message that the Lord has taught us, because we fear their response, or fear that we might stumble over our words?

I love the clear illustration of asking ourselves what our response would be if we saw the roof of a house on fire, and the family who lived in it enjoying a meal in the dining room. Would we be too afraid that we might mess up our words, or that they would reject us and decide to ignore the dangerous situation? I should hope none of us would! Rather, I think that most of us would do all that we could to make sure that the family escaped to safety.

It is the same in our lives, my friends! Many people are in dangerous situations spiritually, and they need someone who will come alongside them and guide them to safety. There are also those who, though their situation may not be extremely critical, are crying out (inwardly, if not outwardly) for someone who will be willing to take a stand for right and help them to do so, too. Having a heart of love for others is an important part in overcoming the fear of man. Often this love is the only thing, aside from obedience to the Lord, that can cause us to overcome the fear of man.

We fear man because we desire so much to be loved and accepted. We fear that in reaching out we will do something that will turn people off from us. Yet, if we realize that the source of true love and acceptance is in Jesus, we will not fear man’s response.

In seeking to please Him alone, your outlook on life will be changed, and you will realize what truly is important in life. You will understand more and more that it is not man’s response to you that matters. Rather, it is what you do, for whom you do it, and the spirit with which you do it that counts. On His way to the cross, Jesus was not met with warm smiles and praise for what He was doing (and He was doing the greatest thing anyone will ever do). Yet, He faithfully fulfilled His mission. His driving force behind what He did was fulfilling the will of His Father, and a heart of incredible love for us. This is to be our driving force in life as well – to do the will of our Heavenly Father – with a heart of Christ’s great love for others.

As we seek through His strength to overcome the fear of man out of a heart of love for others, we must come to understand that it only matters

if we please the Lord. And, as a result, we must endeavor to live our life with our hearts full of His love. When we stand before God on that great day of judgment, all that will matter is if we have been faithful to what He called us to do. For all of eternity, we will enjoy the rewards of our obedience. And for all of our life on earth, we will enjoy the freedom and joy that results from fearing the Lord alone and living life out of a heart of love for Him and others.

Let us be vessels of His love for others, dear sisters, seeking only to please Him. And only eternity will show the great difference it will make! E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEReprinted by permission from www.thekingsdaughtermag.com

eloved, let us love: love is of God;In God alone hath love its true abode.

Beloved, let us love: for they who love,They only, are His sons, born from above.

Beloved, let us love: for love is rest,And he who loveth not abides unblest.

Beloved, let us love: for love is light,And he who loveth not dwelleth in night.

Beloved, let us love: for only thusShall we behold that God Who loveth us. E

~ Horatius Bonar ~


“Love to fellow believers is the flower and fruit of the root, unseen in the heart, of love to God . . . By His grace, the most commonplace life can be transformed with the brightness of heavenly beauty as the infinite love of the divine nature shines out through our frail humanity.” ~ Andrew Murray ~

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“Keep your face upturned to Him as the flowers do to the sun. Look, and

your soul shall love and grow.”~ Hannah Whitall Smith ~

http://www.thekingsdaughtermag.com/


hat is love? It is advertised on T-shirts, balloons, cards, and stickers; it has inspired a countless number of songs; and people talk about it all over the world. But what is genuine love? The love that God has toward us – the love that never fails? How can we develop it in our lives?

Genuine love may seem so profound, so complicated, so hard to put into words, and I don’t think we can comprehend the entire concept. But we know that love does not focus on self, but on the needs of people, of everyone. Love sees each individual as God sees him or her, as someone worth the death of His Son, as someone to be accepted and appreciated, as someone in need of salvation.

There are people in each of our lives for whom we feel natural human affection – our family, special friends, and those who have been kind and loving to us. But love goes far beyond this. Genuine love shows itself to everyone unconditionally, whether or not someone loves us, whether or not we can expect anything in return. When our natural affection fails us and we view some people as impossible to like, that is when genuine love keeps going, keeps meeting needs, because love never fails.

How can we show this kind of genuine love to others? God, the perfect example of genuine love, inspired 1 Corinthians 13 to show us how. The more we meditate on the treasures of truth God gives us in this chapter, the more we will understand how to love.

We must realize that real love can never come from us personally – it can only come from God. Consider how great is His love for you! He died for you, to save you, to have fellowship with you. You had done nothing for Him, but rather had sinned and betrayed Him and hurt Him, and yet you had a need and He met it. Now that you are saved, He continues to keep His promises, grant you strength for each day, give you purpose and direction in life, and never give up on you though you struggle and fall.

This, dear sisters, is the love God has for us – and the love that He wants to pour out to others! We must love others just as God loves us. We can never do this on our own; we can only dedicate our lives to God and ask Him to pour out His love through us. We must be like empty channels, rid of fear, selfishness, anger, hatred, and every other sin that clogs the channel of our life, and we must ask God to pour His love through us to others.

In 1 Corinthians 13, God gives us fifteen practical ways to show genuine love. Let’s look at them together.

Love suffers long. This requires patience. Others will hurt and disappoint and irritate us, yet love never gives up on people or becomes angry. Just as Jesus told Peter, it suffers long the first time someone sins, the seventh time, the seventy-seventh time, and keeps going and going, keeps hoping, keeps giving.

Love is kind. It’s nice to people! It’s gentle, considerate, goodhearted, seeking another’s comfort. It’s kind to everyone, even those who annoy us. Kindness shows itself in the simplest actions. Baking someone’s favorite kind of cookies. Making a newcomer feel welcome. Reading a story to a crying child. Smiling and caring enough to ask how someone is doing. Kindness is made up of lots of little things.

Love does not envy. Be happy for the good things that happen to others, instead of wishing you could have them yourself! Even if you don’t feel like it, go ahead and congratulate someone who got the position, the clothes, the opportunity, that you would have liked to have had. Love is content to trust that God gives to everyone perfectly as He sees fit.

Love does not vaunt itself. To vaunt means to draw attention to yourself. Love does not try to impress others with her own accomplishments. Love does not always have to share her opinion. Love is not offended when she goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

Love is not puffed up. It’s humble, not proud or vain. Love keeps everything in perspective and realizes what we really are compared to God. Love is open about shortcomings and always asks forgiveness. Love



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values everyone, even those who don’t have our intelligence or ability. She never feels it’s below her to spend time talking with someone unpopular.

Love does not behave itself unseemly. Simply speaking, love is polite! One who loves will have good manners. She will give up her chair for an elderly person, will not put her elbows on the table, will not be silent just because she does not feel like talking to someone. She will not speak or act unkindly, will not be inappropriate, will be sensitive to what is expected of her in each situation.

Love seeketh not her own. The opposite of love is selfishness – focusing on me and my needs. I need to be accepted and appreciated by others. I need to be given a break now and then. I should have some more friends. If it’s not my turn to do that job, I won’t do it! Love focuses instead on others’ needs and puts others’ preferences before what it does. Love gives and gives and gives and gives! As you give to others, God promises to give in turn to you.

Love is not easily provoked. Even when others irritate or insult us, love is patient, overlooks offenses, and sees the good in a situation. When circumstances frustrate us – when the traffic is bad and you’re running late, when the power blinks and you lose your computer document – love knows that God is in control and thanks Him for what He is doing.

Love thinketh no evil. Love takes every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, gets rid of wrong thoughts, and keeps only right thoughts. Love is never hypocritical – it always comes from a deep inner love for someone, not an attempt to mask the true feelings underneath. Love is not quick to believe gossip and is not always ready to accuse. Love doesn’t harbor anger, bitterness, or rebellion deep inside, but is transparent and sincere.

Love rejoiceth not in iniquity. Love never finds happiness, amusement, or entertainment in sin, or in another's suffering.

Love rejoiceth in the truth. Love does not seek personal gain, but rather God’s gain. Its only desire is that the truth might triumph, that others might accept and love the Lord.

Love beareth all things. No matter how others fail, no matter how they disappoint us, no matter how they provoke us, love steadfastly endures. It never says, “That’s it!” It continues to obey a difficult authority, to be kind to an irritating sibling, to accept a fair-weather friend.

Love believeth all things. Love visualizes achieve-ment for all those in her life. Remember – love sees as God sees. It does not see a hardened, sinful person, but rather it sees someone who, if converted, could have a powerful testimony and could be fulfilled in the Lord. It does not see a good-for-nothing lazy little brother, but a boy who, once he learned the right lessons, could be a dynamic young person with a far-reaching influence for God. That is how love sees! Love believes that God can make something great out of the most unpromising people, and with faith she motivates them to spiritual maturity.

Love hopeth all things. Even when a situation or an individual seems hopeless, love hopes. It’s optimistic and joyful and steadfast. It prays and sees the ultimate good in everything.

Finally, love endureth all things. No matter what may happen, love keeps going – in the face of suffering, rejection, change, and failure. Genuine love is not based on whim or natural affection; it comes from the Lord.

We have barely scratched the surface of these fifteen ways to show love, and as you meditate on them, you will find deeper insights that apply specifically to your life. At the end of these fifteen descriptions, God gives us a powerful statement: love never fails. Love is important! If we have every other good quality but miss out on love, we are nothing. No matter where you go and what you do in life, love will never fail, will always be the most important thing, will determine your effectiveness in reaching others.

I know that when I really try to put love into action, the results are amazing. A couple of months ago, a friend and I started a weekly class for some of the children in our church whose parents were new converts. We started with about ten children, and all of them came from bad home situations. Talk about kids with needs!

They were starved for love, but at the same time they were extremely difficult to love. They wouldn’t do anything I told them unless they wanted to. A couple of them just sat in the corner looking sad and scared. Our goal was to teach them the Word of God, and as I tried to do this, I discovered something. Loving them was the best thing I could do, and the only thing that really



mattered. It took time for the children to see that we really loved them, but once they realized it, the difference was like night and day. Those who used to sit sadly in the corner now run up to hug me and talk on and on!

Love does indeed make all the difference in the world. As you start to see people as God sees them, to look for needs and meet them, you will find that many exciting things begin to happen. First of all, you will lose your fear of people. God’s Word tells us that perfect love casts out fear. Love takes our focus off ourselves and what people may think of us, and instead gets our focus on needs and how we can meet them. By conquering fear through genuine love, you will be enabled to fulfill with confidence the calling in life God has for you.

Genuine love also attracts non-Christians to us. It can make or break our witness, so to speak. The world is not reached primarily by explaining logic or debating theology or giving lectures – the world is reached by our love!

Love is essential, and love never fails. Showing God’s love to others will make all the difference in your life. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEReprinted by permission from www.thekingsdaughtermag.com

do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suf-fering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mour-ning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.” ~ Joseph Addison ~

“Holding the heart of another in the comforting hands of prayer is a priceless act of love.” ~ Janet L. Weaver ~

“If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of loving others.” ~ Richard J. Foster ~

“'Love thy neighbor' is a precept which could transform the world if it were universally practiced.” ~ Mary M. Bethune ~

“If we do not love Him with the whole heart, do“If we do not love Him with the whole heart, do we love Him at all? If we serve Him halfheartedly,we love Him at all? If we serve Him halfheartedly, do we serve Him at all?”do we serve Him at all?” ~ Delmas Gehman ~ E

READ: Ruth 2:1-12

lthough my waistline measures 25 inches, and I weigh 110 pounds; if I have not God's gentleness, I am not beautiful.

And though my complexion is clear, and though I have no pimples, and though my skin is smooth and tanned; if I have not God's grace, I am not beautiful.

And though my hair is neither frizzy nor greasy, and though it parts only where I want it to part; yet if I have not God's kindness, I am not beautiful.

God's beauty doesn't depend upon my appear-ance, for it is beauty of spirit. It is gentleness and patience. It thinks first of others; it lets a friend interrupt. God's beauty sings while it presses dresses, and smiles at the crippled neighbor. It stretches a warm touch to a hurting sister. God's beauty listens to an overwhelmed friend.

God's beauty can't be purchased. I can't buy it by the yard from a bolt of lace; neither can a store sell it in a powder can or tube of lipstick.

God's beauty never grows old. But glossy hair will turn gray and fall out. A slim waistline will grow flabby, just as pink cheeks will fade.

But God's beauty can shine on a wrinkled face and live in the clasp of a trembling hand. It can still sparkle from faded eyes.

When I was ignorant, I tried to be beautiful by myself. But, when I understood God's ways, I realized that only God's spirit within me can make me beautiful.

And I may have charm, form, and beauty, these three. But the greatest of these is God's beauty. E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFrom Harmony for the Heart, compiled by Elaine Berry,pp. 81. Used by permission from Green Pastures Press.


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hou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:17-18

“And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” Deuteronomy 5:10

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” Deuteronomy 7:9

“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13

“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

“Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.” Joshua 23:11

“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” Psalm 18:1“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD

preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” Psalm 31:23

“The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.” Psalm 145:20

“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Proverbs 3:11-12

“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” Proverbs 10:12

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” Proverbs 13:24

“Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” Proverbs 15:17

“He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.” Proverbs 17:9

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first



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commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:28-33

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Luke 6:27-35

“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” John 11:36

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my dis-ciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34-35

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth

them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:21

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:23

“But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” John 14:31

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my command-ments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:9-12

“These things I command you, that ye love one another.” John 15:17

“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26

“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17

“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is



written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” Romans 12:9-10

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: there-fore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8-10

“Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;” Romans 15:30

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Corinthians 2:9

“What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” I Corinthians 4:21

“. . . Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” I Corinthians 8:1

“But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” I Corinthians 8:3

“Let all your things be done with charity.” I Corinthians 16:14

“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” I Corinthians 16:22

“For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.” II Corinthians 2:4

“So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one

should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.” II Corinthians 2:7-8

“By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,” II Corinthians 6:6

“Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” II Corinthians 8:7-8

“Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.” II Corinthians 8:24

“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” II Corinthians 13:11

“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Galatians 5:6

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Galatians 5:13-14

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, tem-perance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;” Ephesians 1:15-16

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by



his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:15-16

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Ephesians 5:1-2

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” Ephesians 5:25-28

“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” Ephesians 5:33

“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” Ephesians 6:23-24

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;” Philippians 1:9

“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one

accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Philippians 2:1-4

“Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,” Colossians 1:4

“Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:8

“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assur-ance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;” Colossians 2:2

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15

“Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.” Colossians 3:19

“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;” I Thessalonians 1:3

“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:” I Thessalonians 3:12

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” I Thessalonians 4:9

“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” I Thessalonians 5:8

“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.” I Thessalonians 5:12-13

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;” II Thessalonians 1:3



“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” II Thessalonians 3:5

“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:” I Timothy 1:5

“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 1:14

“Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” I Timothy 2:15

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” I Timothy 4:12

“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” I Timothy 6:11

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” II Timothy 2:22

“But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,” II Timothy 3:10

“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:2-5

“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.” Philemon 1:5-7

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints,

and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:” Hebrews 6:10-11

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Hebrews 12:6

“Let brotherly love continue.” Hebrews 13:1“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:

for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12

“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” James 2:8-9

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” I Peter 1:8

“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:” I Peter 1:22

“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” I Peter 2:17

“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:” I Peter 3:8

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” I Peter 4:8-9

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:5-8

“But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.” I John 2:5



“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have over-come the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” I John 2:9-15

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” I John 3:1

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteous-ness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 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? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” I John 3:10-19

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” I John 3:23

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” I John 4:7-12

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this command-ment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” I John 4:16-21

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his command-ments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 5:2-3

“And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his command-ments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” II John 1:5-6

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Revelation 2:4

“I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.” Revelation 2:19 E

“A heart in tune with God is a heart that beats for others.” ~ Bonnie Jensen ~



READ: Mark 12:28-33

erhaps you, like me, have been thrilled to see two Christians placing their lives side by side in marriage. What makes it love? you wonder. Or maybe you've seen the wife ruining her morning's plans to run an errand for her hard-working husband. It's love, and it's beautiful!

But what makes it love? Isn't it the giving up of one's self?

I think about the words of Mark twelve: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” What a commitment! As I read that, my puny sacrifices shrivel like dried prunes.

I love the Lord. Or do I?What is a love that will not sacrifice? What is a

love that has not cried salty tears? What is a love that loses no sleep for its cause? What is a love that has not bruised its knees in prayer? What is a love that has not sacrificed wealth and popularity?

“Oh, God! A love is no love that will not suffer. Therefore, I commit myself to love You anew. Let it be a deep commitment, a commitment willing to

bruise its knees, skin its knuckles,

and be burned up for You!” E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFrom Harmony for the Heart, compiled by Elaine Berry,

pp. 125-126. Used by permission from Green Pastures Press.

“To love is to place our happiness in the happi-ness of another.” ~ G. von Leibniz ~

“Life is short. Be swift to love; make haste to be kind.” ~ Henri F. Amiel ~

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The strength of love is shown in great things; the tenderness of love in little things. Robert C. Chapman

ove in a Scriptural sense is not a soft, senti-mental emotion. It is a deliberate act of my will. It means that I am willing to lay down my life, lay myself out, put myself out on behalf of another.” Phillip Keller

“It is wonderful how the exercise of one's will in a matter like this will eventuate in the correct emotions. Determining to wish that person's good; deliberately trying to do something loving for him; and praying for him – all this will some day bring about the emotion of love itself. But love, as the Bible interprets it, is an affair of the will, not necessarily of the emotions.” Isobel Kuhn

“The proof that you love someone is not that you have warm affectionate feelings toward them. The proof is in your actions, your words and your sacrifice, your willingness to give the best of yourself and your willingness to get nothing in return.” Katherine Walden

“To love is not to experience a particular sensation in the heart; that emotion is but a reflex phenomenon, a detail of love at the least. To love is to wish for the good, it is to give the best of one's self for the good of another; it does not mean grasping for one's self; love means giving one's self.” Maurice Landrieux

“To love as Christ loves is to let our love be a practical thing and not a sentimental thing.” Sir Charles V. Stanford

“Love is not a possession but a growth. The heart is a lamp with just oil enough to burn for an hour, and if there be no oil to put in again its light will go out. God's grace is the oil that fills the lamp of love.” Henry Ward Beecher

“The best testimony that Stephen bore was his last: not when preaching and working miracles, but when he pleaded for his persecutors; for then he most resembled the Lord Jesus in patience, forgiveness, and love.” Robert C. Chapman E

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QuotesQuotesE E E E EE E E E E

What MakesWhat Makes It Love?It Love?by Heather Martinby Heather Martin

“LP


ear Daughters of the King, I have received so many wonderful letters from you, and I appreciate so much the opportunity to pray for your special requests. Indeed, there seemed to be a recurring theme among the letters. So many girls were concerned over their lack of love for others, particularly their brothers and sisters. The most frequently asked questions were, “How do I love? What is love? How do I get this love? I just don’t have it no matter how hard I try.” I sensed a discouragement among the writers over their inability to “love”. First, I want to tell you to be encouraged. You are not alone. Few adults have attained the kind of love you are seeking to develop toward others. I have struggled with my own inability to love as God would have me love. It is only in the last few years that I have really understood how to have this Godly love towards others. I am more than happy to share some of these thoughts with you. We have all read 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter of the Bible, yet few people ever display this kind of love. Many have done Bible studies on it, and many have even memorized this chapter. And yet, on a daily basis in their relationships with others, they still do not have this wonderful Godly love. The desire is there. They pray for God to give them this love. Yet, God does not seem to answer this prayer in the manner in which people are expecting. If He did, our churches would be filled with Christians possessing this Godly love. Unfortunately, we often find this not to be so. How do we get this Godly love? Loving others is such a large topic and covers such a multitude of behaviors, that it is often difficult to dig deep enough to find the very basic and simple truth about love. 1 John 4:8 says, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (Emphasis added.) We cannot love as God loves until we know God. We can read our Bibles — we can even memorize

whole chapters – but that does not mean that we know God. You see, memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 does not help us to possess the Godly attribute of love. It gives us a description of love, but that is not the same as knowing God and His love. How do you come to know God? – through reading His word, not as homework or a literary work, but to know Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). A good place to start would be to read the Gospels over and over. Read everything about Jesus. When Jesus speaks in the Bible, He is speaking to you, just as if you were sitting on the hillside listening to the Sermon on the Mount. Take everything He says personally. Talk with Him as you would a good friend, for He is the most wonderful Friend you will ever have. As you come to know Him, you will be coming to know God, for Jesus is God. As you see how Jesus loves, you will see how you should be loving. It will be a real love, not what the modern books tell you about the psychology of loving people. After coming to know more about Jesus, you will probably still see your own lack of love. Hard as you try, you still don’t seem to be able to love your brothers and sisters. The Word of God always has the answers. Romans 5:5 says, “...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” I have often wondered why God’s love was not shed abroad in my own heart. So I began to pray for God to shed His love in my heart so that it would flow outward to those around me. I learned that I needed to know even more about God and His great love for others. I asked God to show me how to love others. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”. - Philippians 2:5. We need to have the mind of Christ instead of our minds. By simply praying, “Lord, how do you see my brother? Lord, how do you see my neighbor?”, we can begin to see others as


What isWhat is Love?Love?

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by Mrs. Zakulaby Mrs. ZakulaE E E E EE E E E E

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God sees them, and His love begins to slowly take over our hearts. Where we might be critical, God gives us understanding. Where we might be impatient, God gives us patience. We cannot love others through our own carnal selves! It is His love flowing through us that reaches out and loves others. God loves all your brothers and sisters as much as He loves you or me. We must learn to love, and ask God to love through us these same brothers and sisters. Begin to look at them with a new pair of eyes, God’s eyes, and God’s love will be in your heart for them. Possibly, there is one remaining stumbling block to possessing this Godly love. Dear girls, we can know God, we can come to see others through the mind of Christ, and we can be praying most earnestly for God’s love to be shed abroad in our hearts, but still fail to possess this Godly attribute. You see, God just doesn’t sprinkle some magic dust over us, and make us loving for the rest of our lives. We are faced with choices daily. The great stumbling block to having God’s love in our hearts is our self. God’s love is unselfish. We are selfish. We must empty our hearts of ourselves, our wills, our desire to do our things, our desire to pout, our desire to get even, our desire to gossip, our desire to have hurt feelings, our desire to keep our possessions, our desire to speak harsh words in retaliation, our desire to be angry when we feel like being angry, and so forth. We must empty our hearts, and then He will fill our hearts with His love. In short, real love = loss of self for another. Learning to love is a process which takes place over time. We must learn all about Jesus and develop a personal walk with Him. We must stop and take time to pray for the mind of Christ in every situation. We must be quiet and listen to His mind. We must put aside our selfish selves and ask God to love others through us. It is His love that allows us to love others. It is He that receives the glory. We are not great, wonderful, loving Christians. We are just vessels, emptied of ourselves, and given over to our Lord. There is humility in this Godly attribute of love, because one who possesses Godly love knows just that: it is of God. E


he last velvety petal of a oncegraceful rose falls to the ground.A lovely young girl becomes ill.

A precious, long-awaited infant is born – dead.In the midst of all of this you ask the question,

Where is God?Where is Love?

Why?In the stormy days,

When things don’t go as planned,When hope is gone,

We tend to blame Him.Why?

Why do we blame the One who said,“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man

Lay down his life for his friends”?The one who not only said it but did it – for you.

Do we not understand His Love?His Perfect Love?

The love that sometimes allowsinconveniences, sadness, despair

– for you.We can catch but a glimpse of His perfect plan, and

We rarely can understand it, butWe can trust and watch the beauty unfold.And when that rose blooms we will know

that He knew best all along.Will you trust – His Perfect Love? E


e loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.” Augustine

“The love of wealth makes bitter men; the love of God, better men.” W.L. Hudson

“Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and piety, and neither will excuse us from the other.” Matthew Henry E


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by Havilahby HavilahC. WordenC. WordenE E E EE E E E

His PerfectHis Perfect

LoveLoveT

“H




ear Daughters of the King,Do you ever wonder about what the proof or

evidence of your love for others is? If your love was on trial, and the prosecutor and defender had just finished presenting all the evidence on how you love others, what would the jury’s verdict be? “Guilty! She doesn’t really love others.” Or, “Innocent! She does love others. She has true love!” How can we know if we have true, Biblical love for others? How does God measure this love? How do I love my brother and sisters? How do I love my Christian friends? How can I best demonstrate my love for them? What about when your friend wants you to do something which is not quite right, and your parents would disapprove? You love your friend, so what do you do? It’s so easy to say the words “I love you”, but what is actual love? Is there ever a choice in truly loving another and compromising with God’s Word?

The world offers so many different definitions of love. It has its own proofs of love. According to the world, thoughtful cards, presents, candy, and flowers are evidences of love for one another. Being close friends and sharing secrets are the world’s signs of a loving friendship. When one friend wants to do something wrong, the other friend often goes along with it, because good loving friends stick together no matter what, according to this misguided definition of love and friendship. There is also the cover-up factor. When a friend asks you to lie for her, well, you know, according to their definition of friendship, friends who love each other will lie for each other. The world’s many proofs of a loving friendship seldom match up with God’s proof.

Is there some way I can really know if I love my brothers, sisters, and friends? What is the evidence of my love? Is it proof of my love that everyone likes me? Is it proof when others are happy with me? Does God have the answers to these perplexing questions? Of course He does. God has the answers to all our questions, and the answers are found in

His Holy Word. There is only one, yes, only one proof or evidence that we love others. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” - 1 John 5:2-3

We know that we love others when we are obedient to God. We show our love for others by obedience to God’s Word. There is no other way to love others. When we are disobedient and rebellious, we do not love anyone but ourselves. Every time we choose to sin we are demonstrating our selfishness and our lack of love.

Our sin is a poor testimony of our love. It is a stumbling-block to others, and, oftentimes, it hurts others. Our short tempers wound the spirits of others. Our critical words hurt and discourage. Dressing immodestly sets a poor example and may cause others to sin. Selfishness pushes others away. Gossiping spreads evil. Jealousy stirs up hateful feelings. When we join with our friend in wrongdoing, we are giving evidence that we love our friend more than God. We are actually telling our friend that she is more important than God, and that we think more highly of her than of His Word. (This is not friendship but idolatry.) When we lie to cover up our friend’s sin, we are choosing to lie over telling the truth. Hence, we have become liars ourselves.

Our obedience to God is a wonderful testimony for God. Obedience demonstrates love and respect for God and His ways. Obedience helps others see how wonderful our God is, and that we hold God in high esteem. Our obedience to God never hurts others. A patient spirit is a soothing person to be around. Kind words encourage. Selflessness draws others. Praise spreads joy. Contentment is a pearl of great price. Not going along with our friend’s wrongdoing just might help our friend do right. If not, we still left a good testimony for God with her. Not lying for our friend helps her to receive the punishment she deserves for sinning.


The Proof ofThe Proof of Your LoveYour Love

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by Mrs. Zakulaby Mrs. ZakulaE E E E EE E E E E

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When we really love others, we will never lead them to sin. If we love others, we will not cause our friends to gossip. When we love others, we will not be a source of temptation for anyone at anytime. We will know that we love others and have evidence of our love, when we love God by absolute obedience to His commandments. That is why we can never compromise by choosing a little sin over obedience. Sin is evidence that we do not love God or love others. God makes it so simple. We do not need to be concerned about what is the right thing to do in many different situations. There is only one right thing — to obey God’s Word, even if it means that we have to hurt others’ feelings. What is right for eternity is what is right for now. We can love our brothers, sisters, and our friends by doing what is right for them for eternity.

If we were put on trial to determine if we really love others, the only Biblical evidence according to God’s Word would be our obedience to God. Would we be guilty of not loving others according to His Word, or would we be found innocent of all charges, because we love others according to God’s Word? E


hat we love usually manages to get into our con-versation. What is down in the well of the heart will come up in the bucket of the speech.” Vance Havner

“'God is Light.' 'God is Love.' That which professes to be light yet lacks love, is not of God; while that which calls itself love, but is not according to light is equally not of God.” J. C. Steen

“If the first mark of a true and living church is love, the second is suffering. The one is naturally consequent on the other. A willingness to suffer proves the genuineness of love.” J. Stott

“Though we cannot think alike may we not love alike?” John Wesley

“Love makes everything lovely; hate concentrates itself on the one thing hated.” George MacDonald

“Love must be learned and learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but waits only to be provoked.” Katherine A. Porter E

o you know the world is dyingFor a little bit of love?

Everywhere we hear the sighingFor a little bit of love;

For the love that rights a wrong,Fills the heart with hope and song;

They have waited, oh, so long,For a little bit of love.

From the poor of every city,For a little bit of love,

Hands are reaching out for pity,For a little bit of love;

Some have burdens hard to bear,Some have sorrows we would share;

Shall they falter and despairFor a little bit of love?

Down before their idols falling,For a little bit of love,

Many souls in vain are callingFor a little bit of love;

If they die in sin and shame,Someone surely is to blameFor not going in His Name,

With a little bit of love.

While the souls of men are dying,For a little bit of love,

While the children, too, are crying,For a little bit of love,

Stand no longer idly by,You can help them if you try;Go, then saying, “Here am I,”

With a little bit of love. E

“The way to love someone is to lightly run your finger over that person's soul until you find a crack, and then gently pour your love into that crack.” ~ Keith Miller ~


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by Edwinby EdwinO. ExcellO. Excell

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A Little BitA Little Bit

ofof LoveLove



“She hath wrought a good work on Me.” Mark xiv. 6.

f human love does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.

Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because it was useful, nor because there was anything in it at all beyond the fact that I love Him? Have I ever realized that I can bring to God things which are of value to Him, or am I mooning round the magnitude of His Redemption whilst there are any number of things I might be doing? Not Divine, colossal things which could be recorded as marvellous, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him? Have I ever produced in the heart of the Lord Jesus what Mary of Bethany produced?

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him the abandoned tokens of how genuinely we do love Him. Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness; we are greatly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, fearful lest we offend Him. Perfect love casts out all that when once we are abandoned to God. We have to get rid of this notion–“Am I of any use?” and make up our minds that we are not, and we may be near the truth. It is never a question of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time. E p. 52, Feb. 21st


ather, make us loving, gentle, thoughtful, kind;Fill us with Thy Spirit, make us of Thy mind.

Help us love each other, more and more each day,Help us follow Jesus, in the narrow way.

Father, we would ever, live as in Thy sight;Thou dost know our longings after what is right.

Fill our hearts with kindness as we onward go,Teach us to be loving, Thou hast loved us so.

Help us to remember, Thou art ever near;Teach us lovingkindness, tenderness and cheer.There is much of sorrow, in this world below;Father, make us loving, Thou hast loved us so.

We would learn of Jesus,We would learn of Jesus,Help us here below,Help us here below,

Follow in His footsteps,Follow in His footsteps,Who hath loved us so. Who hath loved us so. E

ove gives all, but also asks all. It does so not because it begrudges us what has been given, but because without this it cannot get possession of us to fill us with itself. In the love of the Father and the Son, it was so. In the love of Jesus to us, it was so. In our entering into His love to abide there, it must be so; our surrender to it must have no other measure than its surrender to us. If only we could understand how the love that calls us has infinite riches and fullness of joy for us, and that what we give up for its sake will be rewarded a hundredfold in this life! It is love with height and depth and length and breadth that passes knowledge (Eph. 3:18-19)! If we could grasp even a part of its knowledge, all thought of sacrifice or surrender would pass away, and our souls would be filled with wonder at the unspeakable privilege of being loved with such love, of being allowed to come and abide in it forever.” ~ Andrew Murray ~ E


Have You Ever BeenHave You Ever Been Carried Away for Him?Carried Away for Him?

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by Oswald Chambersby Oswald Chambers

Father, MakeFather, MakeUs LovingUs LovingE E E E EE E E E E

by Flora Kirklandby Flora Kirkland

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o attempt to speak, write, or tell of the love of God in human terms could never do justice to the magnitude of the height, breadth, length, or depth of His love. The love of God is so high, deep, and wide that no tongue or pen could ever tell of it in a fraction of its fullness. It is this very love, however, that He desires to pour through the hearts and lives of His people in an effort to draw the hearts of others to Himself.

Knowing and walking in God’s love is one of the most powerful resources God’s children have in bringing the message of the gospel to the world. It is the powerful drawing of the love of God that brings men and women to believe on and trust in Christ, as the Apostle Paul stated, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.” - Ephesians 2:4-7.

One of the most misunderstood concepts of God in our world is the love of God. How much does God really love us? The heart of God is all-encompassing, all-consuming love. It is a very powerful drawing force that we must either resist or open ourselves to receive. His love for us is not conditional in that, if we excel in purity and holiness, He will love us more. It is not based on the fact that, if we are good and obey Him, he will extend to us a certain measure of His heart. Many, many people strive to somehow “measure up” that they might obtain a position in His heart. Dear sisters, His love for us is already perfect! He loved us in our sinful condition; and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!

Yet, the eyes of God cannot behold wickedness or sin. It cannot stand in His sight! In truth, not one of us could ever make ourselves good enough

to stand in His sight. He is so very holy! The blazing fire of His holiness would surely consume us in His wrath, if it were not that the heart of His absolute holiness is complete love. He loves us so much that, because of His love, He hates wickedness. God hates sin of every form, yet He loves the sinner. This is why “...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. - Romans 5:8.

God knew that fallen man could never climb to a level where he could once again have the fellowship with our Holy God that Adam first had. God longed for fellowship with the people He had made, and it cost Him the life of His Son to redeem us again from the grip of sin so we could once more walk in fullness of life, in complete fellowship with our God. Once again we can have the heart-to-heart fellowship with Him, not because of our own good works, personal “goodness”, or status, but because of the precious blood of Jesus which has paid the sin-debt we could not pay. The life-blood of God’s Son has paid our debt in full.

In the same way God demonstrated His love by sending Jesus to be a sacrifice for a sinful people, so also must we walk in this selfless kind of love that spares not one’s own life, but gives it up for both friend and enemy alike. “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” - Philippians 2:7-8.

Dying to self is the process of taking up our cross and following Christ. An example of this is the life of Ruth. Ruth was a young widow who decided to forsake all to follow God. Ruth left Moab (her homeland), her family, friends, and all that was familiar to her, clinging to Naomi, saying “...where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people; and your God, my God...” - Ruth 1:16.


In HisIn His LoveLove

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by Holly Hagemanby Holly HagemanE E E E EE E E E E

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Ruth gave herself to be a loving servant to Naomi, and ultimately to God, wholeheartedly doing the most humble labor in providing for and caring for her. It was this forsaking of herself and clinging to the Lord that brought her to the place where she could receive the blessing and promise of God. It was in the forsaking of the ways of the flesh that the purest of love was found, and the favor of God was poured out upon her.

In the words of Boaz, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me; and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” - Ruth 2:11-12.

Ruth poured out her life, expecting nothing in return, yet God gave her an abundant inheritance, more than she ever could have dreamed possible.

Knowing and walking in the love of God has its roots in death to self. [See “A Biblical View of Self”, by Mrs. Ellis, in Vol. 2.] Death to self can only come when we are able to see in the depths of our souls just how sinful and helpless we are in the strength of our flesh — completely unable to make ourselves acceptable to God. When we give our lives into His hand, He will begin to empty us of ourselves, to make and mold us into His likeness; and we will become empty vessels of honor through which His love will flow.

We need to realize that our love must come from God. If we tried to love God and others with our own fleshly love, we would soon fail because our own love is so weak. We need to have the agape love of God flow through us, because it is unconditional. It is the kind that loves in death (in death to self, as well as in the physical death like those of Jesus and Stephen), and it will endure because it is from God Himself.

We cannot get this love on our own. Even though we want to, we cannot love others with God’s love in our own strength, but we can choose to surrender our own wills into His hand, to die to our own desires, plans, and wants, to set our hearts following after Him and seeking Him. When we do, we will begin to see just how much God loves us, and something beautiful will begin to happen in our hearts. His strength will be made perfect in our weakness, and His love will begin to

flow through us into the lives of others as we present ourselves as channels.

As our hearts and lives are correctly related to God, and we identify ourselves with the cross of Christ, God’s love will begin to flow freely through us to all who are around us; and we can walk in His love and begin to feel His heart of compassion for others, as well as demonstrate His love to all whom He brings across our path. No longer will we seek to pour our own love upon those whom we choose, but God’s love will flow through our lives like a mighty river; and we will become constantly aware that His arms of love are stretched out to anyone, to any sinner who will come and be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.

How He longs that still more lost lambs might be brought into the fold. There is none so wretched or so lost that His hand cannot redeem. No soul can go beyond the reach of His love, because, while we have fallen short of the glory of God, His arm is never too short to save. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEReprinted by permission from www.thekingsdaughtermag.com

~ This article also appeared in 6.1 of AGW. ~

urely all my unworthiness and frailty can be no hindrance to such love. If this love, being divine, has infinite power at its command, I surely have a right to trust that it is stronger than my weakness and that with its almighty arm it will hold me in its arms and allow me to wander no more . . . Treating me as a reasonable being endowed with the wondrous power of willing and choosing, He cannot force all this blessing on me, but waits until I give the willing consent of my heart.” ~ Andrew Murray ~

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ome unto me, ye weary, and I will give you rest."O blessed voice of Jesus which comes to hearts oppressed!

It tells of benediction, of pardon, grace, and peace,Of joy that hath no ending, of love which cannot cease.

"And whosoever cometh I will not cast him out."O patient love of Jesus which drives away our doubts;Which calls us, very sinners, unworthy though we be

Of love so free and boundless, to come, dear Lord, to Thee!~ William Dix ~ E


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ow broad is Christ's love? Oh, as broad as man's trespass,

As wide as the need of the world can be;And yet to the need of one soul it can narrow–

He came to the world and He came to me.

How long is Christ's love? Without end or beginning,

Eternal as God and His life it must be,For, to everlasting as from everlasting

He loveth the world and He loveth me.

How deep is Christ's love? Oh, as deep as man's sinning.

As low as the uttermost vileness can be;In the fathomless gulf of the Father's forsaking

He died for the world and He died for me.

How high is Christ's love? It is high as the heavens,

As high as the throne of His glory must be;And yet from that height He hath stooped to redeem us–

He so loved the world and He so loved me.

How great is Christ's love? Oh, it passeth all knowledge,

No man's comprehension its measure can be;It filleth the world, yet each heart may contain it–

He so loves the world and He so loves me. E

~ Annie Johnson Flint ~

n the heart of Jesus there is love for you,Love most pure and tender, love most deep and true.Why should you be lonely, why for friendship sigh,

When the heart of Jesus has a full supply? E

~ Alice Pugh ~

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” B. Johnson

here is beauty all around,When there’s love at home;There is joy in ev’ry sound,When there’s love at home.Peace and plenty here abide,Smiling sweet on ev’ry side;

Time doth softly, sweetly glide,When there’s love at home.

In the cottage there is joy,When there’s love at home;Hate and envy ne’er annoy,When there’s love at home.

Roses blossom ’neath our feet,All the earth’s a garden sweet,Making life a bliss complete,When there’s love at home.

Kindly Heaven smiles above,When there’s love at home;

All the earth is filled with love,When there’s love at home.

Sweeter sings the brooklet by,Brighter beams the azure sky:

Oh, there’s One Who smiles on high,When there’s love at home.

Jesus, show Thy mercy mine,Then there’s love at home;

Sweetly whisper I am Thine,Then there’s love at home.

Source of love, Thy cheering lightFar exceeds the sun so bright—Can dispel the gloom of night;Then there’s love at home. E

“If there be any reserve in my giving to Him who so loved that He gave His Dearest for me; if there be a secret 'but' in my prayer, 'Anything but that, Lord,' then I know nothing of Calvary love.” Amy Carmichael


The Love The Love of Christof Christ

Love at HomeLove at HomeE E E E E E E E E E

John H. McNaughtonJohn H. McNaughton

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m I missing out on something in my spiritual life? Am I experiencing God in the same depth that David and the Apostle Paul and Mary and so many other heroes of faith have? Is there more to a relationship with God that I haven’t discovered yet?

The Lord answered these questions by showing me a specific truth that runs through the whole of His Word. He opened up to me multiple passages of Scripture and tied them all together in my mind, giving me an idea of the kind of life focus He wants me to have. These new insights changed my relationship with God, my outlook on life, and my attitude toward my future.

I want to share with you these verses from God’s Word that He used to give me a new life focus. This is not to say I have applied everything I’m going to share with you! This is more like a class in God’s school that I just enrolled in, and I’m looking for volunteers to join me. ☺

The life focus that should dominate every thought we think, every decision we make, every path we choose – is love.

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40.

Why is love the greatest commandment? And the essence of the law and the prophets? How can it be so important?

God’s Love for MeChristianity may seem to you like just another

religion made up of various doctrines and theologies and practices. Perhaps you’ve been taught about the Lord, have read the Bible – maybe even all the way through, have attended church – and yet God still doesn’t seem real and close to you.

Maybe you’ve come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ; you’re working on maintaining a daily devotion time; you earnestly desire to become spiritually mature. And yet you do not really feel as if you know God and are experiencing His presence every moment of every day.

There is something lacking. What is it? I think you will find the secret in Ephesians 3:19: “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

What does it mean to be “filled with all the fullness of God”? It’s something that is not learned by research, but by experience. I have not experienced it much, but I have an idea of what it might mean.

“Being filled with all the fullness of God” is probably like experiencing a personal, constant, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ – a relationship where you feel as if you’re constantly worshipping Him, constantly “in touch” with Him, constantly in His Presence, constantly receiving strength and joy from Him, constantly setting yourself to do His will.

Wow! What is the key to all this? Look back on Ephesians 3:19 and you will find it: “to know the love of Christ”. The love of Christ? You say, “Isn’t that just a simple thing? Others love me. I’ve known Jesus loves me ever since I sang the song when I was a toddler.”

No! The love of Christ is not a simple thing. It is something “which passeth knowledge”. Think for a minute what is the greatest, sweetest, most ardent love you could ever imagine. Now, consider this: God says His love for you surpasses all that. And God wants you to know that love – not with your mind, because it’s impossible, but to know it in your spirit.

I have found it to be such an endless source of comfort, inspiration, and joy, to stay constantly aware of God’s great love for me. When I feel overwhelmed, worried, afraid, depressed, or lonely, remembering God’s love is like running into a


To KnowTo Know the Love ofthe Love of

ChristChristE E E E E E E E E E

by Lisa Bodeby Lisa Bode

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refuge from the storm. It turns my eyes to Him, inspires in me a trust in His working, and encourages me to stop worrying about all the details of life and simply spend myself loving Him back.

What does the Bible have to say about God’s love for us? If you are in the habit of skipping over any italicized section because you’d rather not take the time to read the Scripture, you’re missing out! Read slowly and let the verses sink in. Here are a few:

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God….” – 1 John 3:1. The only reason The King’s Daughter can have this title is because, when we become saved through faith, God adopts us into His family and showers love upon us better than the best father on earth!

Look at what attention and concern He gives us: “…for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him…. Ask, and it shall be given you…. For every one that asketh receiveth… how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” – Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:8, 7:7-11). God loves us so much that He’s constantly looking out for our needs, hearing our prayers, and answering them in His perfect way. He didn’t even spare His own Son – He will “…freely give us all things…” (Romans 8:32)!

Christ’s death on the cross was an incompre-hensible act of love. There is no greater love you could find in anyone in all the earth. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13. Jesus deliberately chose to endure excruciating pain and an embarrassing death – for you! Because He wants you in heaven, because He wants to know you, because He includes you in His perfect plan.

Time changes history and nations and people and fads, but not God and His truth. No matter what you do, where you go, who you become, God says, “For I am the Lord, I change not…. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…. I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” – Malachi 3:6a, Hebrews 13:5b, Jeremiah 31:3b.

Perhaps you have suffered recently and wonder, “Where is God’s love in this? Why did this happen?” God loves us too much to allow us to go through life filled with “dross” (sin). He’s ordained

times of “refining”, times when we grow closer to Him and become more like Him. God causes us to suffer for the same reason any good parent corrects a child. “For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” – Proverbs 3:12.

God’s attitude toward us is perhaps best summarized in Malachi 3:17. Look at the name He chooses to use for us: “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels….” Jewels! Someone He treasures, fashions, refines, and enjoys.

This is God’s love for you – this and more that we will never understand but must only believe in faith! “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that [nothing!] … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:37-39.

Now that should be enough to make your day!

My Love for GodIt’s become a contemporary attitude: God loves

me no matter what, so I can do what I want. That is one of the most repulsive, selfish, unfaithful things we could ever think.

God’s great love for us gives us not an excuse for sin, but a call for us to love Him back. God longs for an intimate relationship with you. When you put personal goals, busy schedules, worldly ideals, or anything else above God, you brush aside the greatest love this world has ever known. It’s the most scandalous act of betrayal one could imagine.

Keep your love for God first and foremost in your life! Let your only desire, your only goal in life, be for Him – to know Him, to worship Him, to glorify Him, to do His will. That is all that counts in life, and if that is truly our only desire, we save ourselves from frustration, disappointment, stress, and heartache.

We show our love for God by obedience to Him. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” – 1 John 5:3. God doesn’t give us commands because He wants us to deny ourselves every pleasure in the world and live sad, self-righteous lives. He gives us commands because He doesn’t want us to sin and thereby hurt ourselves!



“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” – John 15:14. If you love Him, you will obey Him. If you are “having a hard time” obeying God in a certain area, or “struggling” with a certain command in the Bible, or wondering if a good end justifies wrong means, you do not love God as you should. Love obeys.

Satan would rather we do anything else than love God. He wants to keep us from “being filled with all the fullness of God”, from knowing and experiencing God’s power and presence. He tries to distract us from God, so that the only times we think about Him are when we go to church or skim through our assigned Bible-reading.

Matthew 24:12 describes one of the ways in which Satan attacks the Church: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Why does the love of many wax cold? Because iniquity abounds – because we can get so caught up in our own will and our own ways that we forget to keep a close relationship with the Lord, and our fire goes out. It is true that the love of many does wax cold. Will yours? Will a life of doing wonderful projects for God distract you from loving God?

A relationship is made of two. God has already done His part by His incredible love. How should we respond in order to attain an intimate relationship with Him? Here are a few verses I discovered to answer that question:

Don’t just pray, but “…pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.” – Psalm 62:8b. Run to Him and tell Him all about whatever’s burdening you. I find that I worry and worry and worry and worry – and then when I finally get around to really praying about it, the worry goes away! Why didn’t I pray first?

Get to God alone. Attending family devotions, Bible studies, prayer meetings, and church services is great. But God wants you to be alone with Him as well. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut they door, pray to thy Father which is in secret….” – Matthew 6:6a.

God wants your heart. He wants you to give Him all you have and are. He’s given up everything for you; now He wants you to give up everything for Him. This is His request to you today: “My [daughter]…, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” – Proverbs 23:26. If Jesus owns and seals your heart, worldly and carnal affections cannot slip in.

Once my family forgot to take much water on a fairly long hike during a hot day. By the time we were half way through I was painfully thirsty. All the way down the mountain I imagined how good a glass of ice cold water would feel. I would have given anything to have it right then! When we finally reached our van and opened our big thermos, it felt like heaven to drink some. Never has water tasted so good. It seemed as if I couldn’t get enough.

That’s the desire we should have to know God. “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” – Psalm 63:1. It is this kind of longing that leads to an intimate relationship with the Lord. “Kind of thinking it might be a good idea to know God” isn’t enough.

Do you long to know Him? Do you love Him?

God’s Love for OthersSo there we have the first and greatest command-

ment (loving God). The second (loving your neighbor) is very like it, just as Jesus said. In fact, if you fully obey the first, obeying the second is the natural result.

How does an intimate relationship with the Lord affect our attitude toward others?

It's easy to act as if the Bible was written for me alone. I am God’s jewel. I am loved of God. But my little sister screaming in the highchair is not!

Wrong ☺! God loves others just as much as He loves you. You could not be best friends with a woman if you treated the husband she loved like dirt. Neither can you be best friends with God if you don’t show love to the other people He loves! Loving others goes hand in hand with loving God. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar….” – 1 John 4:20a.

Consider these verses:“These things I command you, that ye love one

another.” – John 15:17.“…see that ye love one another with a pure heart

fervently:” – 1 Peter 1:22b.“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of

God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” – 1 John 4:7-8.

God is love. He loves us. He loves others. If we are to know Him and be like Him and experience His fullness, we must love others, too. “…we



ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” – 1 John 3:16b. A love for others will be the natural result of pouring out our lives in love for God.

“…but the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13b. E


"Father forgive them!" thus did He pray,Even as His lifeblood flowed fast away;Praying for sinners while in such woe –

No one but Jesus ever loved so.~ Avis B. Christiansen ~

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEESee, from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down;Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

~ Isaac Watts ~

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEELoved with everlasting love, Led by grace that love to know - Spirit, breathing from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!O this full and perfect peace, O this transport all divine - In a love which cannot cease, I am His and He is mine.

~ Wade Robinson ~

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE“Faith is believing He, the miracle worker, can

turn my stone-cold indifference into a fire of love toward certain 'unlovables'.” P. Reeve

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE“Love is the sum of all virtue, and love disposes

us to good.” Jonathan Edwards

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE“Ministry [or, love] is giving when you feel like

keeping, praying for others when you need to be prayed for, feeding others when your own soul is hungry, living truth before people even when you can't see the results, hurting with others when your own hurt can't be spoken, keeping your word when it is not convenient . . .it is being faithful when your flesh wants to run away.” Author Unknown

From the editor's devotional journal, Jan 21, 2009

his is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13

Tonight I got into bed, switched off the light, said a few sentences to [my little sister], and then closed with, “Goodnight, Rachelle. I love you.” And suddenly my conscience smote me. Did I truly love her? What kind of love was mine if I didn't show it? For she had been asking me to come to bed, and come to the room, and take care of her aching legs, etc. for something like an hour and a half, and I had said, “I'll be right there . . .” and then once I was there, I went off to do something else. So it was only 10 when I was in bed. And she was about sleeping by then. And I have done this very thing to her countless times. ~ So it caused me to ponder – what kind of love is a love that does not sacrifice, does not keep its word faithfully, does not put others' interests above its own, does not point others to Christ, is not gentle and kind, is not humble and submissive, is not considerate and sensitive, is not godly, etc? Jesus wants us to love each other AS HE LOVED us! That is quite the standard! What a beautiful testimony! Agape love – true, sacrificial, faithful, unselfish, forgiving, pure, Spirit-filled, sincere love that pours itself out for others! Laying down not necessarily physical life, but my own desires/interests/ plans/hopes/preferences/time/self/etc! E

“Instead of allowing yourself to be unhappy, just let your love grow as God wants it to grow. Seek goodness in others. Love more persons more . . . love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself.” Henry Drummond

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE“. . . the only way of attaining that love is by loving.

You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving.” F. de Sales


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E E E EE E E E

by Karissaby Karissa HiebertHiebert

E E E EE E E E

Is It AgapeIs It Agape

Love?Love?



ere is love, vast as the ocean,Lovingkindness as the flood,

When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,Shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember?Who can cease to sing His praise?

He can never be forgotten,Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,Fountains opened deep and wide;

Through the floodgates of God’s mercyFlowed a vast and gracious tide.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,Poured incessant from above,

And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justiceKissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,Love Thee, ever all my days;

Let me seek Thy kingdom onlyAnd my life be to Thy praise;Thou alone shalt be my glory,

Nothing in the world I see.Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,

Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct meBy Thy Spirit through Thy Word;

And Thy grace my need is meeting,As I trust in Thee, my Lord.

Of Thy fullness Thou art pouringThy great love and power on me,

Without measure, full and boundless,Drawing out my heart to Thee. E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWilliam Rees (1802-1883), verses 1-2 ; William Williams possibly wrote verses 3-4; translated by William Edwards.

f the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting 'Who made thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou hast not received?' then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I myself dominate myself, if my thoughts revolve around myself, if I am so occupied with myself I rarely have 'a heart at leisure from itself,' then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If the moment I am conscious of the shadow of self crossing my threshold, I do not shut the door, and in the power of Him who works in us to will and to do, keep that door shut, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I cannot be at rest under the unexplained, forgetting the word, 'And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me'; or if I can allow the least shadow of a misunderstanding, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I feel injured when another lays to my charge things that I know not, forgetting that my Sinless Saviour trod this path to the end, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I feel bitterly towards those who condemn me, as it seems to me, unjustly, forgetting that if they knew me as I know myself they would condemn me much more, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If something I am asked to do for another feels burdensome; if, yielding to an inward unwillingness, I avoid doing it, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I refuse to be a corn of wheat that falls into the ground and dies ('is separated from all in which it lived before'), then I know nothing of Calvary love.” E


Here isHere is LoveLove

QuotesQuotesE E E E EE E E E E

by Amy Carmichaelby Amy Carmichael

H “I


ear Sisters, A few rays of golden sunlight peered behind

the cold gray clouds of this Monday morning. The leaves of the trees fell in the slow breeze.

I’d been up for a few hours now, chasing details, cleaning, washing dishes, and now I was out getting groceries. I studied the piercing beauty of the horizon for a moment before I looked back down to my work. I had not yet met with God that morning. I knew in my heart I needed to meet with Him very soon.

I felt unhappy, discouraged by difficulties, confused by questions, overwhelmed by the upcoming week of work. I looked in myself and found two things – sin and weakness. I knew from God I could find forgive-ness, and strength made perfect in weakness. I needed to meet with Him. From God and God alone could I find what I needed to truly live.

I found a quiet place, and opened His Word, and asked again what has become the cry of my heart these last few weeks. God, teach me genuine love. Give me the grace to walk in the way of love.

The autumn clouds did not instantly clear, but joy grew in my heart. My difficulties melted in light of promise; my questions were answered by clear commands; my work became possible by God’s enabling.

All of this, as I sought genuine love.“…You shall love the Lord your God with all your

heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” - Luke 10:27.

This is the sum of the law, the essence of what God requires for us – to love Him with everything we are, and to love those around us. Period. The end. Two things on my to-do list.

And the two go hand-in-hand – “…the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen… the one who loves God should love his brother also.” – 1 John 4:20-21. So really it is one thing we are called to do. Love.

Love is not one more quality I should work on developing. It is not one more thing I should do today before I go to bed. Love is a way of life. And it is the only way to live effectively, successfully, happily. Genuine love in its utter simplicity is all-encompassing beyond comprehension.

Sometimes I feel like a lot more is required of me than just – love. I have on my desk in my room a day planner. Each week I consider schedules and check calendars, and then fill my day planner with scribbles outlining projects I need to do. Cook dinner on this night, graphic design magazine pages on this day. Now that the school year has begun I am teaching writing to thirty-nine students ages eight through fourteen. This means each week I write on my day planner classes I need to teach, papers I need to grade, students or parents I need to contact. Details, details, so many details!

As the week progresses, I write more jobs into my day planner as they come to mind. Return this to Wal-mart. Go through the mail. Take my sisters to the park. Clean the bathrooms.

I try to find the balance between working too hard and not working hard enough. When do I stop work and go build relationships, be with family, make a phone call, read a good book, meet with God, enjoy life, simply rest? And when do I hole myself up in the office and stare at the computer? How do I make sure I’m always using my time wisely?

I become tired, overwhelmed, frustrated. I lose the joy in my work. My life changes into a to-do list that is never completely checked off.

And God points me back to genuine love. Every moment I spend walking in love – love for God and love for others – is not a moment wasted. Do I want to really use my time wisely? Do I want to make my life count? Do I want to get it all done and get it all done well?


Walking Walking in Lovein Love

E E E E EE E E E E

by Lisa Bodeby Lisa BodeE E E E EE E E E E

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Then the solution is not to work harder, faster, better, to work myself to distraction. It is to love, and to see my work as only a means to the end of love. At this moment as I sit writing – do I view this article as one more project on my wearying to-do list today? Or is this the way I can love God and love you right now?

If I am not writing this article in love, it doesn’t matter how fast I type and how nice I sound. I am wasting my time.

If I am not teaching my students in love, it doesn’t matter how many papers I can grade in an hour or how smoothly a class goes. I am wasting my time.

If I am walking in love, it doesn’t matter whether I’m doing “unimportant” things like ironing a shirt or answering a phone call or reading a silly story to my sister. I am spending my time the best way I ever could.

This is beginning to sound like 1 Corinthians 13. “If I… do not have love, I am nothing. And if I… do not have love, it profits me nothing.” But if I do have love – “love never fails”.

When I wake up in the morning do I ask myself, “What do I need to do today?” Or do I ask God, “How can I love You and love others today?”

So I’ve found that genuine love transforms my work – that in fact, genuine love is the only way my work can ultimately succeed, the only way I can live effectively, the only way I can tackle my to-do list without becoming weary, overwhelmed, or frustrated.

And genuine love transforms my relationships. I’m trying to look at each person in my life with this mindset: “God, how can I bless this person? How do You want to use me in showing Your love to him or her today?” So what, if this person is having a nasty attitude, or misunderstanding my needs. That is really not the point. Am I walking in love? Conflicts disappear, problems vanish, questions are answered, confusions dissipate, when I am walking in love.

I want very much to be happy. Do you? I love to be happy, and when I feel unhappy, I want the problem fixed. Right now, if possible! I have needs; they need to be met; and I will go out and find someone or something to meet my needs and make me happy. Maybe I could go shopping with a friend. Maybe I could turn on some nice music. Maybe I could take today off work. Maybe I could go to Starbucks. Maybe I could travel to Australia.

Maybe I could persuade everyone in my family to be nice to me, even on a Monday morning!

Do you think this effort works? Do you think I find happiness this way?

The answer is a huge, resounding no. As long as my focus is on myself, attaining my own happiness, finding my own fulfillment, I only fall deeper and deeper into a prevailing unhappiness.

These things I seek may give me a temporary smile, but soon the song is over and the coffee cup is empty and the shopping trip leaves me with a grim cash deficiency, and then what? I’m dissatisfied.

How can I find true joy?My pursuit brings me back to genuine love. My

experience is that if I want to be completely fulfilled, joyful, content, satisfied in life, then I must pour myself out loving God and loving others. Love is the key to happiness – not other people loving me, but me loving others.

Wait a minute. Am I really saying that happiness is found in pouring myself out for God and other people? Like I can find happiness in writing this article to you, putting away groceries at home, teaching twenty-six little kids tomorrow, and taking my sisters to the park? If I do it in genuine love, yes! But who’s going to meet my needs?

The Lord. As I pour myself out in love, I will be more fulfilled in Him than I could be in anyone or anything or anywhere else. Jesus loves and treasures me. He created me with an idea and He is faithful to perfect what concerns me. He showers me with good gifts. Walking in love gives me a beautiful joy!

I’ve experienced this. I’ve lived days surrounded by happy circumstances, people showing love to me and every situation in life just smiling. And yet I’ve been unhappy because I haven’t been walking in love.

And I’ve lived days like today, Monday mornings when quite frankly, everything seems grey as the clouds and nothing is working out quite how I’d like (and I feel the familiar wail, nobody seems to understand!). And yet I’m happy because since I met with God, I’ve been walking in love.

In myself there is no love. It’s not a quality I can manufacture or a talent I can flaunt, not an ability I can develop or a feeling I can force.

God is love. The fruit of the Spirit is love. We find love only through seeking Him. We walk the way of love by continually, moment by moment,



choosing to confess and forsake past failures, choosing to rest in His love and to channel it to others, choosing to walk in the Spirit right now.

Daily we repeat the lesson.And daily we can live in joy and fulfillment.

Even on Monday mornings. E


f we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love friends for their sake rather than for our own.” Charlotte Brontë

“It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship.” Henry Ward Beecher

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

f I do not give a friend 'the benefit of a doubt,' but put the worst construction instead of the best on what is said or done, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I can hurt another by speaking faithfully without much preparation of spirit, and without hurting myself far more than I hurt that other, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I am content to heal a hurt slightly, saying 'Peace, peace,' where is no peace; if I forget the poignant word 'Let love be without dissimulation' and blunt the edge of truth, speaking not right things but smooth things, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I am afraid to speak the truth, lest I lose affection, or lest the one concerned should say, 'You do not understand,' or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness; if I put my own good name before the other's highest good, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

“If I take offense easily; if I am content to continue in a cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

Amy Carmichael E

ove suffereth long, and is kind . . .” 1 COR. xiii. 4-8.Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, i.e.,

it bursts up in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of mathematical certainty in Paul's category of love. We cannot say–“Now I am going to think no evil; I am going to believe all things.” The characteristic of love is spontaneity. We do not set the statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there. In everything to do with the life of God in us, its nature is only discerned when it is past.

The springs of love are in God, not in us. It is absurd to look for the love of God in our hearts naturally, it is only there when it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we do not love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spon-taneity of our love, it comes naturally. In looking back we cannot tell why we did certain things, we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God manifests itself in this spontaneous way because the springs of love are in the Holy Ghost. (Romans v. 5.) E p. 121, April 30th


“If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me; if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to some-one else, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE“If I covet any place on earth but the dust at the

foot of the cross, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” Amy Carmichael


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E E E EE E E E

by Oswaldby OswaldJ. ChambersJ. ChambersE E E EE E E E

E E E EE E E EThe The SpontaneitySpontaneity

of Love of Love E E E EE E E E

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