Category: Love

As we breathe

Ruth Kirk

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

Friends, as we breathe,
We are breathing the Spirit
Of God;

And, every day,
We are Christ’s living body
And blood.

Friends, as we dwell in their love,
Let us help, give
And share,

For this is our purpose
On earth:
To embody their care.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

References

  • God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth (Isaiah 42:5; NLT).
  • In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28; NIV).
  • There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:4-5; NLT).
  • Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
  • You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (Corinthians 12:27; NIV).
  • God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us (1 John 4:13; NLT).
  • God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).
  • Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ (Ephesians 5:2; NLT).
  • Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).
  • Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).
  • Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).
  • Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Reciprocity

Ruth Kirk

Keep on seeking, and you will find (Luke 11:9; NLT).

To seek Christ
Is to be sought,
And to find him
Is to be found.

To hear him
Is to be heard,
And to see him
Is to be seen.

To know Christ
Is to be known,
And to serve him
Is to be served.

To bless him
Is to be blessed –
And to love him
Is to be loved.

We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19; NIV).

My beloved is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16; NIV).

Facing the truth

Ruth Kirk

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT).

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).

  • You spoke the truth – and the religious authorities couldn’t stand it.
  • You spoke the truth – and the occupying powers couldn’t tolerate it.
  • You spoke the truth – and even the people you had taught, loved, served, and healed turned against you.
  • You lived the truth – so they closed their eyes, blocked their ears, and hardened their hearts. Then they condemned you to be tortured and killed.
  • But nothing could destroy your way, your truth, or the example you set by how you lived -loving and serving everyone you met,
  • And all these things are still just as relevant and vital today as they were over two thousand years ago.

I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you (John 13:15; NLT).

References

  • Christ Jesus… gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone (1 Timothy 2:5-6; NLT).
  • Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).
  • Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).
  • Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).
  • Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).
  • We will be like him (1 John 3:2; NLT).
  • Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
  • Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
  • The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; NIV).
  • Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).
  • Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14; NIV).

    A reading: Ephesians 3:14-19; JB.

    I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name: Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

Praying for peace

Ruth Kirk

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14; NIV).

I pray for peace
In every mind:
Deep peace –
And in my own.

I pray for love
In every heart:
Great love –
And in my own.

I pray for truth
In every soul:
Pure truth –
And in my own.

I pray for hope
In every life:
Bright hope –
And in my own.

Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen… Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world (Matthew 12:18,20-21; NLT). 

At last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut (Job 5:16; NLT).

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-3; NLT).

References

The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).

God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth (1 Timothy 2:2-4; NLT).

O Lord, you alone are my hope (Psalm 71:5; NLT).

Put your hope in the LORD. Travel steadily along his path (Psalm 37:34; NLT).

The heart of the gospel

Ruth Kirk

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).

The heart of the gospel
Is Jesus.

The heart of the gospel:
Be kind.

The heart of the gospel:
Forgiveness.

The heart of the gospel
Is love.

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate (Luke 6:35-6; NLT).

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

References

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).

I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Half the story

Ruth Kirk

I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

I love you –
But that’s only half
The story.

You love me too –
And that’s what makes me
Whole.

For we are one –
In joy, and pain,
And sorrow;

One in mind and body,
Heart,
And soul.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

References

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Hope

Ruth Kirk

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Romans 4:18; NIV). 

Let’s hope,
Despite hopelessness;
Love,
Despite loneliness;

Serve,
Despite suffering;
Live,
Despite loss.

Let’s pray,
Despite pointlessness;
Wait,
Despite weariness;

Trust,
Despite trials –
And carry
Our cross.

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).

 

The Kingdom of God

Ruth Kirk

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

Our Maker is within us;
Our Saviour is within us;
Our Helper is within us.

Our Maker is in others;
Our Saviour is in others;
Our Helper is in others.

Our Maker is among us;
Our Saviour is among us;
Our Helper is among us.

Not far away: within us;
Not far away: in others;
Not far away: among us.

One God, right here: within us;
One God, right here: in others;
One God, right here: among us.

So let’s seek God within us,
And let’s love God in others –
For God’s Kingdom is among us.

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you” (Luke 17:20-21; NLT).

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us (1 John 4:12; NLT).

References:

Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds (Hosea 6:1; NLT).

I am God, and not man; the Holy One within thee (Hosea 11:9; BST).

Christ lives within you (Romans 8:10; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you (Romans 8:11; NLT).

Your immortal spirit is in every one of them (Wisdom of Solomon 12:1; GNTA).

Reading: Mark 12:28-31.

God

Ruth Kirk

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

✠  Don’t reach up;
Don’t reach out;
Just reach in:

God is here –
In our pain
And our sin.

✠  God is love;
God is truth;
God is light;

God is strength;
God is fire;
God is life:

✠  In each mind,
And each heart,
And each soul –

God, our source,
And our breath,
And our goal.

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead (Philippians 3:10-11; CSB).

References

Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14; NET).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Recognition

Ruth Kirk

These thoughts came to me as I started to pray in bed, just before settling down to sleep …

The two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread (Luke 24:35; NLT).

At times we may long for some recognition, approval, or reward, however small, for all the efforts and sacrifices we make throughout our lives. However:

  • The only recognition
    Which really matters
    Is our recognition of Jesus
    As our Saviour.

  • The only approval
    Which really matters
    Is Christ’s approval
    Of how we love and serve him
    In others.

  • The only reward
    Which really matters
    Is seeing Jesus’ face,
    Hearing his voice,
    And receiving his embrace.

  • Therefore, the only goal
    Which really matters
    Is to become one
    With Christ Jesus our Lord
    For evermore.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

References

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:14; NLT).

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us (1 John 4:12; NLT).

Let love be your highest goal (1 Corinthians 14:1; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

Well done, my good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21; NLT).

He returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him (Luke 15:20; NLT).