Love (P&P 100) - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) November 9, 2021

We recently learned about God's abounding love and the need to love one another. And today, we return to the topic of love because we need to remember how much God loves us and how much of that love is available us.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 provides a detailed definition of love. We are told - 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,...

Take some time to review those sentences. Replace the word 'love' with God then read them again. Be reassured that God is all this and more for you and to you. Knowing this gives insight into 1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

How can anything be more important than faith? So much of our walk with the Lord depends on faith, right? What's love got to do with it?

Everything. Our ability to have faith hinges on knowing that God loves us. That's how we can trust His promises and covenants to us. Our knowledge of God's love also ensures we love ourselves and understand how valuable we are to Him. If not, we'll sell ourselves short and make compromises to accept less than the full measure the Lord has in store for us.

Knowing God's undying love also helps us take better care of ourselves. He calls us His royal diadem and scepter. We are jewels to Him. Jewels shine. And as jewels who know their Father loves them, we take care of ourselves. We read His words of love in the Bible, we get enough sleep, we work out and eat right.

And, steeping ourselves in God's love helps us to extend the love we receive to others. We, therefore, help those in need, we make sacrifices for family and strangers alike, and, of course, we pray for others.

Finally, another reason why the knowledge of God's love is crucial is contained in 1 John 4:18 - 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. If you know God loves you, what is there to fear? See how love strengthens our faith? The one who fears can't be made perfect in faith or hope either. We therefore have to dig into love - God's love for us to resist fear and send the devil fleeing.

Today, the 100th Praise & Pray (for others) on this forum, we're going to thank the Lord for His love. We're going to give Him the glory and put satan to shame. We're going to praise the Lord for loving us hard enough whereby we have love to give to others. That's why we are able to gather and pray for the needs of different people, countries, and situations each and every week. That's one way we obey the Lord and show love to one another. Glory to God! We shall lift up two or more of our fellow P&P participants today, praying for them and/or blessing them as led by the Spirit of God. For a reminder on the P&P 100 Challenge, please see this post from Friday.

I pray you will be blessed and refreshed after you join us in Praise & Pray today. God bless you and see you at Noon EST as we celebrate our great and mighty God!