LOVE BRINGS JOY - PART 2

Hello friends, I hope we enjoyed the first part of this topic. Thank God for another opportunity to write the second series of LOVE BRINGS JOY. Going back to our bible text, Love is so powerful that it brings Joy. John 15:9-14 (King James Version) says: “ 9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue ye in my love. 10. If ye keep my commandment, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13. Greater love hath to man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you”. Can you gauge or quantify the love God has for you? I guess you'll say NO. But even though we can't quantify His love, we know that He loves us so much. Much more than we deserve. He gave His only begotten son to die for our sins. I laugh when I hear unbelievers say they are in love. If you are not a true Christian, you can't love genuinely. Did you say why not? The reason is God is love and for you to know love, you need to know the author and the source of love. It's impossible to know the depth of love if you don't have a relationship with the author of love. The Bible says "Greater love hath no man than this, for a man to lay down His life for his friend". If you love someone, you should be able to lay down your life for the person just as Jesus laid down His life for our sins. Why do human beings often show little or no love to others but expect more love from people? Why is it difficult for us to admit our fault but find it very easy to condemn others when they do something wrong? We need to love people like Christ. And even when they do wrong, we correct in love instead of judging them harshly. Don't forget you were once a sinner worse than the people you are condemning, Jesus never gave up on you till you were saved. We shouldn't give up on anyone or become experts in condemning sinners. You are not better than the sinners in the world, God's grace and mercy is the difference. When we love people who are difficult to love genuinely, it leads to joy. Perhaps through your loving character, patience, non-judgmental attitude, and gentle corrections/advice, a difficult person might realize his/her mistakes and change for the better. Love brings joy, and everyone responds to love. We all understand the language of love and we respond to it. Back in my university days, there was a lady most people thought was difficult to get along with. I however decided to be nice to her, and guess what? She responded to my language of love. This probably means that no one around her showed genuine love for her to respond nicely. When you speak the language of love, you will surely get a wonderful response. If not for the love Jesus has for us, some of the things we do as Christians warrant great punishment or even a death sentence. But God forgives and loves us when we ask for forgiveness. Why then do we find it difficult to forgive when people offend us? Most times I hear people say "You don't know how that act of betrayal or insult made me feel". Do you also know how Jesus feels when we sin, or how other people feel when you offend or betray them? You can live a better life if only you do away with bitterness, wickedness, hatred, jealousy, and greed. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to show love to someone who hurt you deeply but the truth is you need Jesus to help you. He alone can give you the grace to live a life free from bitterness and unforgiveness. As I conclude the Love Brings Joy series, I urge you to always speak the language of love to everyone you meet daily. Also, don't forget to always leave smiles on their faces as well. I love you all. For those who have questions, are struggling, or need a counselor to speak to or pray with, please feel free to send an email to one4nation@yahoo.com. You will get responses to your mail within 72 hours at the most. N.B. One of the ways you can show love to someone is by sharing this blog post with friends. You can do so via Social media platforms. You can also leave comments. You never know, someone's life could be touched by your comment, and in the long run, it'll put a smile on their faces. Let's keep soaring high, living holy, and praying for fellow believers, as we await the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With Love from your brother, friend, colleague, and son. Ayodeji Anifowose.

LOVE BRINGS JOY

While I was thinking of JESUS and what He came to do on earth, I discovered everything about our lives in Christ is Love, which brings Joy. John 15:9-14 (King James Version) says: “ 9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue ye in my love. 10. If ye keep my commandment, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Jesus loves us because God the Father showed Him a greater love too. The love Jesus has for us flows from above and reaches us on earth. This simply means you can't give what you don't have. If you are not a true believer, you can't love the way Christ wants you to. Just about two days to my 2013 birthday anniversary (1st of September), I got a cake from “Cakes and Cream”. It was a birthday gift from my sister. When the cake arrived, I was so excited. My excitement was not just about the cake. Her act of love made me extremely happy. This takes me to the topic "Love brings Joy". Verse 11 of the above scripture says "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full ". Which means the absence of love results in the absence of Joy. Why do we kill ourselves with so much hatred and look so old at a tender age? Do you know that bitterness of the heart results in several health issues? If you want the Joy of the Lord to remain in you, you must let the love of Christ also remain in you. When I was very young, my parents told me to always love people and never permit bitterness in my heart, no matter what happens to me. It never made sense then, but while growing up, I understood that loving people makes you feel good. When you love or you are loved, you feel good and that's the joy Jesus promised will remain with us, even to the overflowing. What do you stand to gain by hating your fellow sister or brother? Do you have any value added to your life by doing that? Will your hatred or bitterness of heart bring more souls to God's kingdom or make you feel better? Count the number of people you have ever hated, has your hatred made you become a better person in life? You will be shocked that I'm asking so many questions. But let us tell ourselves the truth which will make us free as we were told in the scriptures. I have learned my lessons, researched a lot, and discovered that hatred and lack of love only endanger one’s life. Where will you be, if Jesus never forgave all your sins? We need to learn to forgive others, no matter what they have done so that our heavenly father can forgive us all our trespasses. Even as I celebrate my birthday today, I want to tell you all that I love you so much. For those I have offended in the past, please forgive me so we can do better things together soon and even make heaven. For those that offended me and are still feeling guilty, I have forgiven you long ago, because I love you so much. I don't know how many more years I have on earth or when the rapture will take place. If you can't remember anything I have ever told you all my life, please don't forget this; "There's no future without Jesus and He is the best thing that ever happened to me". I'm not preaching, but telling you the whole truth. This might be my last post or write-up before my personal rapture or the general rapture takes place. Dear friend, please don't joke with your salvation and evangelism. If Jesus tarries, expect the next series of LOVE BRINGS JOY. With so much passion, friends, families, and loved ones, I love you and I will always do. Thanks for all these years. Your brother, friend, colleague, son, and love.