Tuesday January 27, 2015

Weekly Challenge :Take a selfie this week that sums up your relationship with God and upload it to our facebook page for all to see.

Read 1 John 4:7-8

Evolution simply cannot account for love. Think about the animal kingdom and you’ll see what I mean. A Lion kills a small, innocent and helpless deer. It eats what it wants and leaves the rest rotting in the hot African sun. There is no love present in this transaction. As humans we don’t balk at nature, red in tooth and claw! We accept it But if one person kills another we are rightly horrified and disgusted. There is no means for evolution to account for love.

On the contrary, love comes from God because God is love. It is part of His being or make-up if we can fathom such an unfathomable thought. God didn’t create an emotion called love or form this crazy little thing called love in our hearts. God is love. Love emanates from within God much like the sun’s rays emanate from the sun.

Please hear this correctly. Hear this very carefully. God is love. The Bible does not say that the God of the New Testament is love. It says ‘God is love’. So many people wrongly see the God of the Old Testament as a God of punishment or harshness but the God of the New Testament as a God of love. But we read ’God is love’. That love exerted itself in judgement, vengeance and wrath in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It’s seen in God’s discipline and correction and rebuke as well as His blessings.

When we think of the phrase ‘God is love’ we might also tend to think of God as an old cuddly grandpa sitting on porch giving us whatever we want and letting us do what ever we please. So many churches are even preaching that you can _______________ (insert your sinful desire), God loves you. If we don’t accept this as loving from our parents or grandparents, why would we ever accept it as loving from God. God is love means that he is purely loving in all his ways and has your best interests at heart, even if it means discipline, rebuke or correction. Love is not letting others do as they please.

If God is love then the exhortation for us to love another comes not from within ourselves but from God. God is not saying that you and I are to muster up something from deep within, that we are to find our inner strength to love or that we are to tap into some universal energy to be nice to everyone. God is love. If we are to love, then we need to draw nearer to God.

If you continue along this line of thought about love, it raises deep, heart wrenching questions:

¨ Can I love that uncle who abused me as a child?

¨ Can I love my spouse, who refuses to love me?

¨ Can I love that bully at school or the lecturer who makes my life miserable?

This week you’ll find answers to such difficult questions.

Evolution cannot account for love. If love exists, evolution can not. If evolution is true love is a lie. If we are simply animals of a higher order then having your enemies for lunch would be part and parcel of the survival of the fittest. If we are created by the God who is love then loving your enemies could be shown, for example, by having your enemies over for lunch – pun intended!

Prayer:

Use the day’s reading notes and Bible passage to pray meaningfully:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

· Ask the Lord to be blessing the work of CMTC (ChristLife Ministry Training Centre) and the students who’ll be visiting and serving in other local congregations once a month. Ask God’s Spirit to lead, to guide and to bless this labour of love.

· Pray that this year would see your church grow through many conversions .

Discussion & Reflection

1. Is love a feeling? Please explain with scriptural references.

2. What does it mean when it says ‘God is love’ in verse 8 and 16?

3. What are the implications of the statement ‘God is love’?