The Book
Ministries
LESSONS AND BIBLE STUDIES
Each week The Book Ministries will focus on subjects that touch our lives through the power of Christ. While we will cover many topics, you are always encouraged to ask any questions you may have. We recommend bookmarking this page to get here quickly. After reviewing the week's lesson, please share your thoughts in the community Forum
This week, we will be focusing on prayer. Why we should pray, when we should pray, how we should pray and more. Please join us as we learn about prayer and feel free to ask any questions you may have in the chat, the forums, or by using the Contact page.
LOVE
WHAT IS LOVE?
This week's message is about love. Lamentations 3:22 says "Because of the LORD's great love, we are not consumed, for his passions never fail" (NIV). That does not mean we will always have goodness, happiness and joy in our lives. There will be sad times, there will be times of loss and there will even be times when we feel like God is not around. That doesn't mean He isn't! God has great compassion for us, even when we don't feel like He does. We all go through tough times in life. But God promises to be with us through them all. It's because of His great love that we are not consumed by our sins. God loves us so much, that He wants to see us succeed at everything we do. Sometimes, we can get in our own way though. Times such as ... driving! When someone cuts us off, our first reaction is usually something a little less than Christian. What if, when that happens, we simply let the situation go? What if - instead of cursing that person - we prayed for them and let God work in them? We should all show our love for each other as Christians, but Jesus also said, "love your enemies". It's not always easy, but it is something we must do!
HOW DO I LOVE MY ENEMIES?
In His sermon on the mount, Jesus said, "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" Luke 6:35-36 (NIV). Loving our enemies is something we do by allowing God to transform our hearts. Remember, God will never force Himself upon you. He is waiting for you to invite Him in to make the changes.
1 John 4:7-10 (NIV) says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an anointing sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another". So, let God into your heart and don't worry about those little setbacks. We all have them! The important thing is to keep pushing yourself to do better and listen to God when He speaks to you. Make the right choice today, and every day!
WHY DO I FEEL SO LET DOWN BY LOVE?
We have all been let down in life. But let's not be so quick to blame love. It's actually more the lack of love that has let us down. There's a saying we should all get familiar with "Hurt people hurt people". When a person has been hurt and they haven't allowed God's love to heal their heart, they tend to hurt others with that same pain. Often, this is because people are afraid to let love in. They feel that love will hurt them again.
1 John 4:18 (NIV) says, "there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love".
How many times have you read 1 Corinthians 1 - 13? This is known as "The Love Chapter" because it teaches us that not only are we nothing without love, but also that love never fails. We all know that God is love, so here's a little project for you to try. When reading these verses, replace the word love with God. When we do this, we see that we are nothing without God. We see that God never fails! How awesome is that?!? If God never fails, then love never fails. And if love never fails, we don't have to be afraid that love will let us down.
WHY SHOULD I LOVE?
The short answer is, because God loves you, so you should love others. If God didn't love you, you'd already be gone from this planet. But because God loves us and He is for us, not against us, He doesn't consume us with His almighty fire. Probably the most famous quote from the Bible is John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not parish, but have eternal life (NIV). God loves you so much, that He sent His Son to earth to live as a human. To suffer as a human. To die as a human. And to rise as the Savior of humans! He loved us so much that He went through torture so we do not have to. If God loves us that much, why is it so hard for us to love each other as He loves us? That is a question that only YOU can answer. Because only you can allow God into your heart, allow Him to change your life so amazingly, that all you know is how to love others ... just as He loves you.
No one said love is easy. Love takes work, but you have to be the one to let God work through you. You have to be the one who makes the right choice. You have to be the one who says, "I forgive those who have done me wrong". We will learn more about forgiveness in next week's lesson.
If you have questions, please feel free to post on our forum - This week's lesson: Love. And don't forget to come back next week for our lesson on forgiveness. See you then!
HAVE YOU ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR?
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, pray with me now, out loud:
Jesus, I come to you today, asking for the forgiveness of my sins. I know you came to earth as a man and died on the cross for me. I know you were resurrected and now sit at the right hand of God. And Jesus, right now, in this place, I give my life, my heart and my soul all to you. Please lead me on the path of righteousness. Let me never fail in all I do for You. From this day forward, I am making you my Lord and Savior and I want you to lead me into eternity with You. I thank You, that You did all those things for me. And I declare today that You are real, that You are alive and that You reside within me. I declare my love for you, from here to eternity. Thank you, Jesus. I love you. Amen!