“Thou Knowest I Love Thee”
This is how one dear man
learned to love the Lord. He said: “One morning as I was going to work, I
was thinking of the words, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” and
wished with all my heart that I could answer them as Peter did. I felt sad
that I could not. Then this thought came to me, “Well if I cannot say so
much as Peter, perhaps I could turn it around a little and find something
easier.”
“So I began to think there
was one thing I could not say. I could not say, “Lord, Thou knowest that I
do not love Thee,” and I found some comfort in that. At last, I grew bold
enough to look up and say, “Lord, Thou knowest that I want to love Thee.”
Then I began to think of His great love for me. I thought of His life, of His
words, of His cross, and almost before I knew what I was doing, I looked up
and said, “Thou knowest that I do love Thee.”
“And at that moment the consciousness of forgiveness and a new life
came into my heart!”—Tom Olson[1]
Scripture
Text:
1The 4:1 (NIV) Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in
order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in
the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we
gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God's will that you
should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of
you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in
this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord
will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore,
he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his
Holy Spirit. 9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for
you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you
do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to
do so more and more. 11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to
mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,
12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you
will not be dependent on anybody.
“Our business is people and
Our reason is Jesus Christ.
Our purpose is to personally live Jesus
Christ.
Because of His love for us,
We can love Him and one another.
We believe in the absolute necessity of
conversion to Jesus,
The absolute reality of eternal life now
in Jesus,
And the absolute need of each other in
the fellowship of believers.
Our desire is to present Jesus Christ In
compassion and understanding
To every individual who does not know
Him,
And to encourage and develop every
individual who does know Him. “
By Gerry Hickman
I
Thes. 4: 9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you
yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do
love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do
so more and more.
About Brotherly Love. We are to love one another.
Love your brothers and sisters.
I John 4:7 Why?
Because of His love for us. We
can love Him. And We can love one another.
What
has God taught us? To love one
another as He has loved. He says
to:
Make
People:
Remember what you have made that will stand the test of time.
Is what you have made in others? Others
may make thousands of dollars, but not one of those dollars will call out
their name and say thank you for what you have meant to me.
Make
a Difference: Those
teachers who have taught our children and us have become a part of their lives
and have affected their life choices. These
instruments of God’s choosing have been his tools to shape lives.
Folks like these have realized the true meaning of what it means to
live and leave a lasting memorial. I
have seen the stones in the cemetery. Some
are large and notable and others are small and insignificant, but the lives
those stones represent are marked by memories of days gone by. These memories are the very memorials that we all build day
by day.
Make
a Commitment:
Teachers make a commitment to their students and spend countless hours.
We are invited by the Lord to make a commitment to each other as we
have seen illustrated in the love of this man for this woman. Come what may, for better and worse.
Make
a Sacrifice:
They give of themselves so that others can see, hear, and know the
truth, the lie, and the wisdom to know the difference.
The give their lives. Just
as the Lord gave his life for others to live, I believe that these teachers
give themselves to those children that they serve.
It isn’t a job it is a calling.
It doesn’t pay much but to them is the opportunity to earn a rich
inheritance. May all their
children rise up and call them blessed. They
gave so that others could live.
Make
Eternity:
When you add it all up you get? Add
it up for yourself. This is LOVE!
You
Get Hope for the future, Strength for the Present, and Joy in the Past.
God
is our example and our principle for living.
He is the original.
Because
God Made People, God Made a difference when He sent his only begotten Son, God
made a commitment to love people faithfully come w
hat may, God gave the sacrifice that gives to all the opportunity to know Him
and have hope, and finally God made eternity for those who believe in Him.
Have you received Him and His love?
Do
so more and more! Have you been
“Captivated by Christ?”