“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God.”
Here is the profound request: “Give me love; give me chastity, give me faith.” This is a quote from Columbanus, a missionary in the 6th and 7th centuries. This should be our request if we are to live in obedience to the Lord. I want to share my thoughts on it with you. “Give me love…” Who does not need to pray for God to shower His love upon and through us? 1John 4:7, expresses it: “Beloved, let us one another, for love is of God.” This is not actually a request, but it is a command. It is a command that has come through the centuries to the present day. Love is the essence of the Christian gospel, and we sorely need to practice it in our daily lives. When Jesus was asked “which is the great commandment of the Lord?” Here is His answer: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. In these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." “Give me chastity…” “Chastity” is not a word that we use today. We use the word “pure,” or “holy.” What it means is that we want God to enable us to live pure lives. This is more easily asked than accomplished. That is why we need for God help in living pure lives. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to help us to live pure lives. Paul nailed the essence of this in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” “Give me faith…” Of course, what he was asking for was greater faith in Jesus Christ. Actually, we do a lot of things by faith on a daily basis without really thinking about it. We need to consciously look to Christ in every aspect of our lives. John wrote about this in 1John 5:4: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” We have all of the faith that is needed to overcome, we just need to claim it in the name of Jesus. We need to pray for the Lord to give us love, chastity and faith. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Linda Brooks
11/29/2016 06:53:03 pm
I'm beginning to feel like a SPONGE........Trying to "SOAK" ALL of this in !!!
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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