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Love’s Significance
It is virtually impossible to exaggerate the importance of love. Nothing is more basic to true spirituality than this singular virtue. Nothing is more central to Christian living. At the very heart of authentic discipleship is love. Without love, we …Read More
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Love’s Attributes
In the early seventeenth century, Archbishop Ussher of Ireland desired to visit the home of a Presbyterian minister to see whether what he had heard about the man’s personal godliness was true. Ussher arrived at the pastor’s home …Read More
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Love’s Shroud
If, as Jonathan Edwards proposed, heaven is “a world of love,” then love is pure, intense, and uncommon. But even here in this world, God wants us to display something of His heavenly love: “Above all, keep loving one another …Read More
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True Love
God is love, and love never fails because God never fails. Love cannot be separated from God and cannot exist without Him. God’s love is the foundation and definition of love, just as He is the source, fountain, sustainer …Read More
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Enduring Love
There once were two weddings. The first took place on a pristine beach on a lake high in the mountains. The setting was breathtaking. The young couple showed that sweet nervous excitement that made everyone smile. A classical guitarist picked …Read More
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Soft Hearts, Solid Spines
The Internet allows unprecedented opportunity for communication between Christians from different theological traditions. The results have not been pretty. Comment threads are the Devil’s playground and blogs his amusement park. And even if we exclude online media, theological bickering …Read More
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Loyal-Love (Hesed)
In the Old Testament,hesedis a central theological term. It is a key attribute in the Lord’s self-description in Exodus 34:6–7, as well as an obligation that is placed on all of His people in Micah …Read More
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Encourage One Another
There are a lot of interesting conclusions to be gleaned from the laundry list of names in Romans 16. But the one I appreciate the most is Paul’s example of offering divinely inspired encouragement . According to my biblically informed …Read More
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Everlasting Love
We are told in 1 Corinthians 13 that anything done without love is worthless, that “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”, and that “love never ends” (vv. 4–7). Love will never be …Read More
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The Gospel and Worship
There may be nothing in the realm of religion by whic h people vainly attempt to establish their acc eptability to God more than by acts of public or private worship. As a result, worship can degrade into one of …Read More
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With Passion
One of the troubles with trouble is that it can encourage us toward selfishness. When things are going well for us, it is rather easy to feel magnanimous. When challenges come our way, however, suddenly we feel entitled to be …Read More
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Tevje Needed to Know
An eery discomfort links the two famous questions. Tevje, in Fiddler on the Roof, bluntly asks his wife: “Do you love me?” How can it not remind you of Jesus, in John 21, using the very same words to put …Read More
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The Bond of Love
We shall benefit very much from the Sacrament if this thought is impressed and engraved upon our minds: that none of the brethren can be injured, despised, rejected, abused, or in any way offended by us, without at the same …Read More
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The Law of Love
Life is all about relationships. A significant part of what it means for us to be created in the image of God is to be relational. God Himself is a relational being. Not only does He relate personally to us …Read More
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Be Ye Perfect
In Matthew 5:33–48, Jesus tells us how we are to fulfill the law — not legalistically, but in a spirit of Christ-like love. The goal is that we might strive to obey His final admonition in verse 48: “Be …Read More