To God be The glory, Amen

love is a word. Love is an existing fact. Capitalization gives meaning to L-O-V-E! Amen.

In fact, early reading researchers (Dearborn, 1906; Huey, 1908) suggested that words with the first letter capitalized may draw increased attention. In English, a capital letter is used for the first word of a sentence and for all proper nouns (words that name a specific person, place, organization, or thing). In some cases, capitalization is also required for the first word in a quotation and the first word after a colon.

We could go on…

God is LOVE, Amen!!! God IS, Hallelujah, Amen. Creation is beyond beautiful…

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/29/what-does-heaven-look-like-here-are-10-possibiliti/

The clearest sign that we truly Love God is when we love one another and when we stick to the guidance that God gives us through His Word. As Christians, we are called to be loving towards our brothers and sisters in Christ, because our bond is what strengthens our faith. We are also called to be obedient to The Word of God

https://theconversation.com/what-and-where-is-heaven-the-answers-are-at-the-heart-of-the-easter-story-115451

Heaven is a real place described in the Bible. The word “heaven” is found 276 times in the New Testament alone. Scripture refers to three Heavens. The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third Heaven,” but he was prohibited from revealing what he experienced there (2 Corinthians 12:1-9).

If a third Heaven exists, there must also be two other Heavens. The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the “sky” or the “firmament.” This is the heaven that contains clouds, the area that birds fly through. The second heaven is interstellar/outer space, which is the abode of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects (Genesis 1:14-18).

The third Heaven, the location of which is not revealed, is the dwelling place of God. Jesus promised to prepare a place for true Christians in Heaven (John 14:2). Heaven is also the destination of Old Testament saints who died trusting God’s promise of the Redeemer (Ephesians 4:8). Whoever believes in Christ shall never perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The apostle John was privileged to see and report on the Heavenly city (Revelation 21:10-27). John witnessed that Heaven (the new Earth) possesses the “glory of God” (Revelation 21:11), the very presence of God. Because Heaven has no night and The Lord Himself is the light, the sun and moon are no longer needed (Revelation 22:5).

The city is filled with the brilliance of costly stones and crystal clear jasper. Heaven has twelve gates (Revelation 21:12) and twelve foundations (Revelation 21:14). The paradise of the Garden of Eden is restored: the river of the water of life flows freely and the tree of life is available once again, yielding fruit monthly with leaves that “heal the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). However eloquent John was in his description of Heaven, the reality of Heaven is beyond the ability of finite Man to describe (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Heaven is a place of “no mores.” There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more separation, because death will be conquered (Revelation 20:6). The best thing about Heaven is the presence of our Lord and Savior (1 John 3:2). We will be face to Face with The Lamb of God who Loved us and sacrificed Himself so that we can enjoy His presence in Heaven for eternity.

The clearest sign that we truly Love God is when we love one another and when we stick to the guidance that God gives us through His Word. As Christians, we are called to be loving towards our brothers and sisters in Christ, because our bond is what strengthens our faith. We are also called to be obedient to The Word of God

What Does Like Father Like son Mean?

Like any son, the Lord could do whatever He wanted, but because He lovedHis Father, He said the Son “can do noth-ing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do” (5:19). He’d seen His Father heal on the Sabbath. We know this because the people in John 5:1-4 would not have hung around the pool on the Sabbath if the water never moved on the Sabbath. (The angel didn’t heal by His own power, any more than men do [Acts 3:12]). But having seen the Father heal on the Sabbath, the Son healed too (v.19 cf. 5:17).

A father who loves his son shows him what to do (John 5:20). But how did the Father show the Son “all” things He’d done? He used the Bookthat chronicles all things He’d done! The Lord wasn’t born knowing the Book, the Father had to show Him all things He’d done in the Book.

The Father had already shown the Son how to do some amazing things, but He was about to show Him “greater works” (v.20). What could be greater than healing a man who was impotent for 38 years? How about raising the dead? We know this is what He was hinting at, because He mentions it in the next verse (v.21). In the OT, God healed people through Elijah and Elisha, and the Son also quickened “whom He will.” Why not raise everyone from the dead? Well, remember how He chose to heal just one of the multitude at the pool, because his 38 years was symbolic of Israel, and so the miracle had teaching value? Similarly, the ones He raised from the dead had teaching value, so He “quickeneth whom he will.” But don’t worry about all He didn’t raise, He has a plan to raise all men!

While raising everyone from the dead sounds like a good thing, it must be remembered why He plans to raise them—to judge them (v.22). Why did the Father commit all judgment to the Son? So all men would honor the Son as they honored the Father (v.23). What has honor to do with judgment? When Pharaoh refused to honor God, God determined to get honor on him (Ex.14:1,17,18). Ever wonder why a judge is called “Your Honor”? When a country dishonors another nation’s ambassador, they dishonor the nation that sent him, and when men dishonor the Son, they dishonor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23). The way to honor the Lord now, before honoring him unwillingly on Judgment Day, is to believe on Him (v.24). Since He and the Father were “one” (John 10:30), people who “heareth My word,” He said, “believeth on Him that sent me.”

He that believeth doesn’t just hope he can get everlasting life someday when he dies, he “hath” it right now (5:24), as a present possession, even these kingdom saints. And the believer “shall not come into condemnation.” Those words “shall not come into” are used in Numbers 14:30, when God told that sinful generation they would not come into the Promised Land, and they didn’t. Those words are also used in II Kings 19:32-34, where God vows that Sennecherib would not come into Jerusalem, and he didn’t (v.35-37). So when God says the believer “shall not come into condemnation,” you can take it to the bank!

The same can be said for when it says we’ve already “passed” from death to life (5:24). Hebrews 4:14 says the Lord “passed” into Heaven. If you accept that, you must al-so accept you have passed from death to life upon believing

“The hour is coming” when the dead will hear The Lord’s voice (John 5:25 cf. 28,29), but the Lord said the hour also “now is” (5:25). He was referring to how the spiritually dead (Eph.2:1,5) can hear His voice and believe. Some say unbelievers are too dead to hear the gospel, but Adam was able to hear and understand God’s words just fine after he sinned and died in the day he ate the fruit (Gen.2:17).

“As The Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26 cf. 1 Cor. 15:45).

Another reason why God committed all judgment to The Son is “because He is The Son of man.” Men could complain to the Father, “You don’t know what it was like being tempted [James 1:13], it was pretty hard!” They could say that to The Father, but not to The Son.

And we pray:

Dear God, I ask that in everything I do, may I express the Love You have for Your children and for the world. Father, I also ask that You help me remain in Your path – obedient to Your instructions always. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/did-god-really-know-me-before-i-was-born.html?amp=1

Remain in prayer always. Prayer are not just words. Being aware of a crowd of witnesses always around you. We live in the physical – yes! This cloud in the physical is those who hear us, see us, that we can see…

Mind you! ALL your ways.

Do you know that you have angels watching over you? The Bible assures us that we do, so why should we doubt their presence. It gives me great comfort to believe that they are always with me, encamped around me and delivering me. [Psalm 34:7]. I love to hear people tell “angel stories” and read about the way angels have intervened in people’s lives. We would all feel a little more secure if we would realize the constant presence of loving heavenly angels.

There have been volumes written about angel experiences. There are multiple sites on the internet with angel stories. As varied as the stories are, the common theme seems to be the positive effect angel encounters have on people’s lives. After experiencing the presence of an angel, we should be better people, and that seems to be the case in most instances.

When we feel fearful, we need to be reminded of God’s presence.  When we feel weak in our faith, we need to be reminded of God’s promises and His great Love for us.

God is Omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere at one time. This is one of the amazing attributes of God, along with Omniscience and Omnipotence. God desires to be with us. He promises that He will always be with us. He wants to comfort us.

1. Acts 17:27 “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

2. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

3. Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

4. Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God. I keep on strengthening you; I’m truly helping you. I’m surely upholding you with my victorious right hand.”

5. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

6. Matthew 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

7. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Holy Spirit is always praying for us. And we are told to pray without ceasing. This means that we should remain in an attitude of constant communication to the Lord – He is near His children and wants to be relational with them. 

8. Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

9. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.”

10. 1 Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

11. Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will [a]dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

12. 1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

God is with you and He knows what you are going through. 

Even when life is hard – even when we feel like we are about to break under the pressure of stress, we can trust that God knows exactly what we are going through. He is not a distant uncaring God. He is right with us. Even when we don’t feel Him. Even when we cannot fathom why He would allow a tragedy to occur – we can trust that He has allowed it for our sanctification and for His glory and that He is right there with us. 

13. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do no fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will no leave you nor forsake you.”

14. Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

15. Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”

16. Psalm 139:7-8 “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”

17. Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.”

18. Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”

Faith it up!

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-protection/

https://fb.watch/eEMZmdn-z9/

“Love each other fervently,” Peter writes, “because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8). Given Peter’s very personal experience of Christ’s love in response to his sin, it is no wonder that Peter would call the Church to express this reality. This simple phrase is not only a good encapsulation of our experience with Jesus, but it also describes our call to be Christ’s agents of love in the world. 

Peter was a man who knew about sin. From the first moment Jesus stepped into his boat, Peter was confronted by his waywardness. “Get away from me Lord,” he exclaimed, “for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). Things did not get much better as time went on. As Peter journeyed with Jesus he continually ran head-long into the stumbling block of his own failings. He cowered in fear because of the waves, even though Jesus called him out of the boat; he attempted to rebuke Jesus moments after declaring him the Messiah; three times he denied allegiance to his Lord. Yes, Peter knew about sin. But Peter was a man who also knew about love. Peter experienced Christ’s refusal to dismiss him after confessing his sinfulness. He experienced the saving hand of Jesus reach out while drowning in the ocean. Most significantly, Jesus wiped away every one of Peter’s denials with the simple yet profound question: “Do you love me?” Yes, Peter knew the healing power of love.

What Does ‘Love Covers a Multitude of Sins’ Mean?

Every Christian person, in some way or another, has experienced the love of God covering sin. This is not simply Peter’s story, this is our own. Christ’s love brings redemption, full redemption. The love of Jesus relentlessly overcomes the sinfulness and failings of human life. Love covers sin. However, covering sin is not the same as covering up our sin. To cover up our sin is to hide our waywardness. We mask our mistakes and pretend that we have not transgressed God’s holy commandments. Think of Adam and Eve in the garden. The two wayward souls hide amongst the bushes in a misguided attempt to flee from the presence of God. Furthermore, Adam and Eve, quite literally, cover themselves up.  Covering up our sin only serves to lock us in the dynamic of spiritual oppression and damage. Covering up our sin does not do away with sin, it simply removes it from our eyes. Sin still exists within and, eventually, it will destroy us. 

Covering sin, however, means forgiveness. Covering sin means the negation of sin’s power in human life. Covering sin means God puts the power of sin to death. You see the interplay between the two concepts beautifully displayed in Psalm 32. This Psalm details David’s struggle with his own sinfulness. David declares “When I kept silent, my bones were wasting away through my groaning all day long. Day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped” (vs 3-4). As David remains silent, sin eats away at his spiritual vitality. Guilt, remorse, shame – these begin to dominate his life. More and more, David feels overcome by the negative spiritual weight that hangs on him. 

The turnaround comes when David refuses to “cover up” his sin. David writes, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not cover up my iniquity. . . you forgive the guilt of my sin” (vs 5).  David acknowledges his sin before God. David uncovers his sin to allow God to “cover it’ – to redeem it, to forgive it. In doing this, David experiences the full liberation wrought from God’s love. For David, to uncover his sin would be to make a formal confession and sacrifice before God. 

In the ancient world, the language of covering sin referred to the cultic practice of sacrifice as the means for forgiveness. Forgiveness was pronounced through the blood of the sacrifice. One left the sacrificed freed from their sins, as the sin was understood to be covered by the blood of the animal. Thus, the book of Hebrews declares “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22) The blood of animals covered the sins of the penitent. For Israel, it would be fair to say that sacrifice covers a multitude of sins.

Everything changes with Jesus. Jesus is the true Pascal Lamb whose blood covers sin once and for all. In fact, 1 John 1:17 states that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. John’s point is the same as Peter’s. Forgiveness of our sin is found in the sacrifice of Jesus. We no longer need to cover up, to hide, to mask our failings. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice in which sin is finally, and fully, dealt with. Jesus redeems and he redeems fully. The love of Jesus covers over the entirety of our sin. This is the biblical reality in which we live our lives. It is the promise of God for every one of us. Each of us, as followers of Jesus, claim that truth that the incarnate love of God has covered the totality of our sin.

How Can We Love Others?

Peter experienced Christ’s boundless love in his life again and again. Furthermore, when we meditate on this, we come to the same realization. The radical thing about this passage, however, is the Peter is not being self reflective. As much as the declaration that love covers sin describes his own experience before Jesus, in this letter Peter is not actually talking about himself. Instead, Peter is encouraging the Christian community to express this very love in the world. Peter calls the church to embody the full and radical nature of Christ’s love. Peter writes “Above all, love each other fervently, for love covers over a multitude of sins.”  Peter then issues the call to hospitality, service, and speaking the words of God. For Peter, the love that covers a multitude of sins is the love the Christian community expresses outwards. We love as Christ loved us.

Embodying the love that overcomes the multitude of sins involves a commitment to intimacy and vulnerability. It is to recognise the frailty and the brokenness of the Christian brother and sister, and the frailty and brokenness of our selves. We welcome the other as beloved of God regardless of whatever faults and failings we may see within them. 

This means we love the other as they are, not as we wish them to be. Attempting to mold another into the image of who we believe he or she should be is to place a limitation on love. It is to step outside the love of Jesus. This is because we effectively deny that our brother or sister is someone worthy of the same forgiveness, grace, and love that we have received. We place a condition upon their acceptance in the community, a condition that Christ has not placed on us. Such a refusal to live out the love of Christ destroys the Christian community. 

When we “cover sin” through the love of Christ in us, we boldly accept the Christian brother or sister. We willingly forgive as opposed to holding one’s sinfulness against them. We refuse to partake in the negative and destructive habits of gossip, backtalk, or insult. We choose to allow the love of Jesus in us to respond to the love of Jesus in the other. As we receive the reality of Christ’s unyielding love for ourselves, acknowledging that Christ covers our sins, we must radically claim that truth for the other. We cannot recognize Christ’s love covering our sin and then wilfully withhold that love for another. This is antithetical to the gospel. The love of Jesus, free and unrestricted, becomes the measure of how we treat one another. 

How Can We Practically Implement ‘Love Covers a Multitude of Sins’?

The choice we have as Christians is twofold: we can either cover up sin or cover it. To cover up sin is to pretend that it doesn’t exist. Within ourselves, it means that we make justifications for sin. Or, in those times when we know we cannot justify our sin, we hide from God and pretend that God just doesn’t see what has transpired. In each case, sin festers within us and destroys us.

When it comes to our fellow members of the Christian community, we cover up sin by refusing to acknowledge the frailty of human life. We hold another’s sin against them as justification to push them away from Christian community, and from our lives. We allow another’s failings and mistakes to dictate our vision of their very identity. In doing so we make the Christian community nothing more than a dream, a wish. Our version of Christian community becomes an exaltation of our own selves, where everyone is called to be who I wish them to be and does what I wish they would do. Yet here there is no love for there is no acceptance. 

To “cover sin” is to recognize that the love of Jesus forgives sin, within ourselves, and within others. It is to root ourselves on the solid basis of Christ’s love and forgiveness. Thus, we make the love of Jesus the ground upon which we all stand – and thus the ground upon which we accept, embrace, and serve the other.

What might it look like to allow Christ love, flowing within us, to overcome another’s weakness, sinfulness, or imperfection? How might we allow the love of Jesus to change the way we view those who are different than us? Love covers a multitude of sins because it embraces the other. It receives the other, it serves the other. This is not something that we as members of the Christian community are to only say, we are also to express it with our lives and express it radically. Living in this way, Peter reminds us “glorifies God in all things through Christ Jesus, now and forever” (4:11).

A Prayer for Overflowing Love

Heavenly Father,

Search my heart. Reveal in me the people and places in my life that need love. Reveal to me the faces that I need to love, even when I don’t want to. I pray, Father, that You send a blatant overflow of Your unparalleled Love.

I pray that You use me as an instrument of Your Love. Lord, soften my heart where it has grown hard, push me out of my comfort zone, and allow me to show Love far past the circle that surrounds me. When I am frustrated with someone, let Love be my first thought. When I am disappointed with someone, let Love be the first reaction.

When I am hurting, broken, defeated, belittled, let Your Love overflow from the depths of my soul. Please let me Love as much like You as huManly possible. Equip me for this emotion and prepare my soul for the overflow.

You are a good Father Who wants to lavish Your Love upon me. Thank You for being the ultimate example of Love by sending Your Son – Jesus to die in my place; may I use the time I have left on this Earth to never take for granted the Love You demonstrated in that moment.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

God will give each person what they deserves based on what they did. To the individuals who try to do good continually and seek glory, honor, and immortality, God will give eternal life. Simply put: seek God, Love Him, and love your neighbor as Yourself. God gives good gifts to those who Love Him – one of those gifts is eternal life.

And we pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for offering eternal life. It isn’t based on my works to earn it; rather, You give it freely to those who seek You. Jesus purchased our way to You with His own blood. I am in awe of You. Sometimes I forget how amazing You are, but You indeed are miraculous. My words cannot fully describe You, nor can my mind fully comprehend Your complexities and greatness. I am blessed to be Yours. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If Jesus did not actually rise from the dead, then His apostles were in a worse situation than other people.

The apostles and other Christians were charged with living a righteous life in Jesus, giving up many worldly pleasures that others enjoyed and not joining in social rituals that worship false gods. They were frequently prosecuted. In fact, all of the apostles except for John died an unnatural death. Judas hanged himself, James the son of Zebedee was executed by Herod, Paul was beheaded, Peter was crucified (upside down at his request), Andrew was crucified, Thomas was speared to death, Matthew was stabbed to death (though some contend he was not martyred), James was stoned then clubbed, Matthais (chosen to replace Judas) was burned. It is unclear what type of unnatural death Philip, Bartholomew, Simon the Zealot suffered.

There were several mass persecutions of Christians in the 300 years after Jesus’s death, where Christians were covered in stiff wax and set on fire, put in skins of animals and fed to dogs, beheaded, boiled and crucified. They were blamed for natural disasters and killed. They were mocked and killed for the entertainment of the rulers. They were killed because Christianity was spreading across the Roman empire with beliefs contrary to the Roman worship of Roman gods.

Christians today are called to live their lives according to Scripture and stay away from sinful worldly temptations. Some say, at the time of this writing, that Christian persecution is the highest in modern history with 11 Christians killed each day in 50 countries on the “World Watch List” simply because they are Christians.

https://connectusfund.org/1-corinthians-15-19-meaning-of-verse-and-simple-commentary

If we hang our hopes only on this temporary world, we are pitiful this world is full of disappointments. We are bound to be let down time and again when we place our hope only in this world that we live in. Everything on this earth will come to an end. Nothing here lasts. There has to be something more. Something greater than what we know in the here and now. Something that endures. There waits for us a hope greater than anything we know on this earth and that is the hope we find in Christ and in our place with Him in eternity. His resurrection has paved the way for our own. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain when we set our hopes on the world beyond this one.

And we pray:

Lord, my hope is in You alone. I will not place my hope in the people and things of this world. I will place my hope in eternity with Christ and in the place He has prepared for me there. Amen.