The love of God Part Three: Agape

The word "agapao" or "agape" describes the Greek word for the love of God in the Bible. Passages that use this word - Rev 3:19, John 16v27, John 19:19, John 20:2. Agape love is self giving, it is not a love of the worthy, and it is not a love that desires to possess. On the contrary, it is a love given quite irrespective of merit, and it is a love that seeks to give (Romans 5:10, 5:8, 4:10, Matt 5:44-45). What is the difference between this love and other loves? In the Bible there are other Greek words that use love - "Philia" (deep friendship love e.g. 1 Sam 18:1fff). Also related to this word are "Philadelphia" (brotherly love/love of the Brethren). Eros love (love of the attractive/sexual love) is not used for the Church in the Bible as its is described as a possessive and sexual love. Agape love is most effective in the believer when it underlies all other loves; storge, philia and eros. Without agape being our baseline, other loves cannot be made perfect in a individuals life. They may very well act on their own but can serve as bad masters. For example a sexual relationship which is selfish and only desires to please itself will not bring lasting joy in a marriage. A friendship that is purely for one's own benefit will not last and one will end up friendless. Real relationships which are selfless and not just one way will stand the test of time. They will put up with all sorts of things that come their way. I am blessed with such real friends that stick through thick and thin because of this love. Oh how we need to understand the agape love of God that perseveres through hardship in relationships of all kinds, which sees below the external and right to the heart, that loves the unlovely, the hurting, the sick and our enemies as much as we love those who are easy to love.

I am reading 1 Corin 13 nearly every day in the VOICE Bible translation (2012) at the moment until I absorb it in its entirety.The first three verses say this (and which we will come back to in this series in more detail):

1 Corinthians 13v1-3
"What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so I am nothing. I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts."

The key here is the motive i.e. "selfless acts". You can, believe it not, have all the gifts of the spirit, give all you have to the poor yet not understand this love. In this day and age we love pictures, words of knowledge and prophecy, we like quick fixes. I am guilty of this. But these are not the heart of the gospel unless they are motivated by a selfless love. According to the Bible these things will not last. Someone with an great  motivation of immense love for all those around them will do great things for the Kingdom. This is why I believe many unlikely heroes will be in heaven, heroes that have never entered the public pulpit, but in their small quiet way they will be great heroes in the kingdom.In Matthew 10:16 it says "the first will be last and the last will be first." If you have only the capacity to love the one in front of you and don't have a great ministry title, that's OK in the Kingdom of God in fact that is the basis of all that we do. How I want to know this Jesus.

The love of God Part Two: Compassion

I am learning lots about the love of God again and thought i would share my thoughts in a little series. I have been reminded of one of my favorite words in the bible! Its this wonderful Greek word. Its called "spangchizomai". It really does sound like a swear word! This was one of my favorite words in the Bible at bible college and I have been reminded of it recently. It is the Greek word for compassion. It literally means this: to be moved at the seat of ones inner being for the plight of others. Some versions say moved from ones gut or even bowels! It is a gut wrenching powerful compassion. It is a compassion for the sick, the lost, your enemy, your neighbor. It is selfless and not a love just for the beautiful or our friends. It is love for the hurting. Jesus is described as being moved in this way. Mark 1:41 uses this. Also the Samaritan story in Luke is an example of this too. I uses to get this sense with patients of mine that were deeply traumatized. what an awesome word. This is the heart of Jesus. This is the heart of his love. What a great God. I pray that the lord would help me know this level of compassion for each person I meet.

The love of God Part One: It is what remains........

I spoke to someone a few weeks ago who told me that there is even a theology for the love of God! Well I don't want just a theology anymore (without offending you academics!) I want to understand and know and feel the POWER of the Love of God afresh. I am doing loads of art and finding different ways to depict the love of God and Grace in picture form. If you have any ideas please comment!

I am discovering how I need to understand God's GRACE more and more. I am asking the Holy Spirit to help me understand more about the love of God and what that means in practice for my heart and mind those I relate to.

A few beautiful songs I think about often and bring tears to my eyes on the subject:


One thing remains

Amazing Grace

A love that cannot be quenched and which satisfies beyond anything else...

This week I have a week off and in my usual style I had loads of exciting ideas of things I would do... like go to the motorbike museum in B'ham, shopping at the Bullring mall for Christmas presents and as usual I find myself doing a lot less than planned!

I want to share with you a Bible study I did from my bed this morning as I rested in His presence. This is what His love is like:

God's love....
- endures forever (Jer 33:11, 1 Ch 16:34,  and many more in the Psalms!)
- it is totally unfailing (Ps 6:4, 13:5, 32:10, 36:7, 51:1....and many more)
- it is absolutely enormous (Ps 57:10, 86:13, 117:2)
- it is better than life itself (Ps 63:3)
- it is utterley comforting (Ps 119:76)
- it cannot be quenched, not even death cannot quench it (Ps 55 8:7, Romans 8)
- it is better to taste than wine (SS 1:2)
- it is like a massive banner that covers us (SS 55 2:4)
- it is a love that keeps being poured out to use despite our unfaithfulness (Hosea.. marrying an unfaithful woman)
- it is a love that quiets our fears  (Zeph 3:17 - picture of God singing over us!)
- it is a love that gives joy that nothing else can give (Philemon v7)
- it is a love that gives us understanding of what God has really done for us (Rom 5v8)
- it is a love that causes us to love others Matt 5v7 (quite irrationally from a human perpective! Only God's love in us can love people that hate us)

Who can recieve it?
- His love is for those who really seek and call on Him (Ps 86v5 - this is not a half-hearted calling on Him)
- His love is for those who really desire Him (1 Cor 14v1)
- His love is for those who hunger to obey Him and understand Him (Ps 119)

What should we do with his love?
- Remain in it or "rooted and established" in it like a tree (Eph 3v7)
- Sing about it! (Ps 59v11)
- Ask for more and more and more of it! (1 Thess 3v12)
- Chase after it like a man pursing a women in earnest (2 Tim 2v22)
- Walk in it (2 John 6)

What are the barriers to receiving it?
- anger (1 Corin 13v5) - I think anger is a big barrier to receiving God's love but I think it also has the capability to melt anger away like nothing else. Ask the spirit to receive God's love to melt away the anger that claws away at the heart.
-fear (1 John 4v18) - fear causes us to focus away from God and on us and our problems. However as with anger, God's love has the amazing ability to cast out fear.
- being an enemy to our brothers (especially those who know Christ) (John 15v12, 1 John 4v19- 20) - I remember being bitter, very bitter with a particularly group of people for ages and it quite literally stalled my ability to receive God's love.
-Other loves (1 h Tim 6v10, 1 John 12v15) - like money, things, people that are bigger than our love for God
- Disobedience (2 John 6) - deliberately choosing to turn away from God and so not be open to receiving His love.

The answer to overcoming those barriers to love?
- THE HOLY SPIRIT giving us an awareness of His love ( 1 John 4v13, Eph 3v16-21). The Holy Spirit overwhelming us with His love and giving us a deep, unchanging, unquenchable understanding of who God is.
-I must keep receiving His love, when it comes it astounds and satisfies more than words can say. Maybe like me, it has astounded you in the past, you just need a revelation of His love again today. Chase after Him and ask to receive His love again!

The POWER of God.

In the last few weeks I have been thinking about the POWER OF GOD, to the point that it starts to bring tears to my eyes. I think God is softening my heart and making me realise how dependent I am on Him and how HIS POWER is so GREAT if I would just allow him to work.

I had a picture in church the other day of the lion Aslan being chained up in the film Narnia and I felt like
God whispered to me, "That's what happens in the Western world, believers and non believers alike chain up my affective power by apathy, by unbelief, by lack of expectancy." Don't get me wrong I think God moves anyway, despite us. But I do believe that He would be so much more effective in my life if I had a more correct view of His majesty and power to work.

I love to analyse, reason, sort, fix, but more and more I'm realising I CAN DO NOTHING effectively without Him. This week when I was unwell physically it hit me again that God wants me to put Him in His rightful place. For me to come to the end of our own ability to fix and do things myself. To pray more then He would act through me rather than me in my own might.

I also realised that fear of life and circumstances is directly linked to my understanding of His power. If I think all the responsibilities and problems in life are mine to fix then I have so much to fear. However the more I trust in God and His mighty strength and fear Him then I don't need to worry about what life throws at me so much. I realised that God can't give me greater responsibility in my relationship with Him and my service to others until I have mastered this in the little things. Have you ever looked at Christians that suffer great things or those with big leadership responsibilities and wondered "how do they do it?" Well I wonder if the answer is this: they started trusting and relying on God in the little things. They overcame fear in the everyday things by knowing His awesome power and equipping of the Holy Spirit. The verse, "The Lord encamps around those who fear Him" has been ringing in my head this week and I realised with the Lord I have nothing to fear because I know His power is enough (Ps 34v7).

May these quotes/verses on His power inspire you as they did me:


"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you (Rom 8v11)


 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1v7)


Jesus looked at them and said, "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt 19v26).

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." (1 Cor 4v20)

"God's power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One. He sits on no buttressed throne and leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by His courtiers, nor does it borrow its splendor from His creatures. He is Himself the great central source and Originator of all power." (C.H. Spurgeon).

Choosing anyway

I've been thinking a lot this week about choosing God anyway. Choosing to love Him when it hurts. Choosing to praise Him when we don't feel anything. Choosing to carrying on believing He is present when we are angry, confused, sick, tired.

Choosing to love Jesus is easy when things go well but choosing to follow and trust in Him can be hard when the going gets tough and especailly if it feels like you have been stuck in that tough place for a long time. However we shouldn't be surprised by suffering. Paul said that as Christians we would suffer a lot (Roman 5v3). We have an enemy around us all the time who wants to rip us a part from God and from being the people of God he has called us to be. 

I was reading Psalm 22 today and thought I could learn a lot from this passage that echoes the words of both David and Jesus.

Firstly he is tototally HONEST about how he feels twards God. He doesn't speak the language of peity but one of deep suffering and honesty. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...I cry out by day, but you do not answer...?" (v1-2).God wants us to be real when we talk to Him. He would much rather we said something, anything than didn't talk to Him at all. Be REAL towards God in your anger and your pain. I noticed that the Psalmist explained the situation to the Lord anyway in this passage. God wants to hear us talk! (I am 'scorned...mocked...surrounded...v6-8, 12-18). God wants to hear our thoughts and feelings even if he knows the situation already!

Secondly the Psalmist did a lot of REMEMBERING before he even got close to feeling like  praying or talking to the Lord. He remembered how the Lord had rescued his ancestors (v3-5). He remembered how God had looked after him in his own humble beginnings (v9-11).There is a lot of power in remembering. There is a quote that says "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." Thanking God for things He has done in the past is a massive key to hoping and trusting Him now and stimulating our praise.

Thirdly the psalmist WILLS HIS OWN HEART to praise God anyway. "I will declare your name, I will praise you...." (v22, 25) And as He does all these things His heart catches up with his determination and will of faith to praise anyway. He even starts prophetically calling all the earth to proclaim the Lord's favour and praise too! (23).

So I encourage you today too, don't be surprised by suffering and circumstances you don't understand but be encouraged to CHOOSE HIM ANYWAY and in time your heart will catch up with your will and decision to praise Him despite your situation.

Wake up Church! A generation of single people who need community

I've been thinking about the subject of singleness in the Christian church for sometime.I've been to countless sermons in my life on dating, marrriage but I can't recall a single sermon on the benefits of singleness in the Christian life or what the Bible says. I can recall vividly one Pastor saying to a church of about 40% single people,
" whether your married or not this sermon on marriage and parenting is relevant to you since 99% of you will get married one day!" I have to confess I was cross because I knew the statistics were otherwise. Let me tell you some statistics:

35% of the evangelical congregation are SINGLE
68% of the SINGLE evangelical congregation are FEMALE
65% of the evangelical congregation are FEMALE

In relation to the church and its teaching on the subject:
40% of them have NEVER HEARD a sermon on singleness
(taken out of statistics from book: Single Women: Challenge to the Church by
Kristen Aune)

My experience as a single Christian women of nearly 30 is that being single has its challenges and often instead of the Church reaching those we become the 'left over' population that are there to support the
couples and families. Countless times have I heard pastors say from the pulpit "whilst you are single make the most of your opportunity to support Christian couples in the church by babysitting for them, it's all good practice!" I don't disagree that babysitting is a worthwhile cause but being single has its challenges when
most of your friends are married with children. Sometimes it would be nice for the Church and Christian families to realise you need company and community, and not simply to act as a babysitting service! Lets face it sitting around a dvd player whilst the kids are in bed and the couple are at the pub isn't exactly company! So if you're married how about inviting your single friends to hang round with you in the chaos of family life sometimes!?

The single women scenario is another situation. Many books have been addressed as to why there are less men in the church (feminisation of the church? Perhaps women being more sensitive to spiritual things?? etc...) but what has actually been written or discussed in terms of thinking ahead on this subject? Very little I expect. One  male friend said to me he did not understand why so many Christian single women go out with non Christian boyfriends, I refrained from making a sarcastic comment. I know many single women in their late 20's and 30's and some of them find it very difficult surrounded by churches full of single women and their biologcial clock is ticking. When I look at my church and realise that there a several single ladies my age and no men, I have more understanding for those women who pursue non-Christian partners.

Furthermore, the church needs to think about the lack of men - how will this affect the next generation? Lets chuck out of the equation the lack of partners for single women in the church and just address the low ratio of men to women. We need men in the church for the health and wellbeing of church life. Why is our evangelism not reaching them? What does it mean for the company of the men in the church to be surrounded by women? And what about future church leaders? Someone said said to me, "there are not many things (in leadership and ministry) a single women can do in the Church". Well I'm not commenting on that one it's a whole other discussion! But  if the future generation is short of men what will this mean in terms of leadership and ministry? Also we need more women's ministry if there are more women in the church and a greater level of teaching on the gift of singleness. I heard an elder's wife say once that she didn't have much interest in women's ministry in her church. I was a little disturbed, considering the vast need.

The Bible has much to say in favour of singleness and a lot to say on the challenges as well as the joys of marriage (see 1 Corinthians 7). Lets not put one down over the other. (Also note that in the time of Paul, there were a lot less single people in society, maybe he would have taught on it more if he were around as many as there are today).  Someone said to me not so very long ago, "So why are you still single, can't you decide who to pick?" Again I held in my sarcasm and prayed for grace, (it helped me to laugh seeing my Dad's eyes nearly pop out of his head when he was standing next to me!) But the whole tone of the comment  was along the lines of "everyone get's married, why aren't you?!"

So please, be sensitive. Church leaders please think about how your teaching addresses singleness and the increase of single people in the Church. If there were more teaching on the benefits of singleness (other than the church babysitter role) then women and men might see singleness as more positive and feel less pressure to meet a partner. 

The main thing is regardless of whether you are single or married, pursuing God and having a heavenwood outlook is above all other things. If you desire marriage pray for it (God doesn't care about the negative statistics! He can do all things), but don't let it become an obsession which removes your focus from God. Also remember marriage is tough, don't cover it with gold paper and assume its a bed of roses compared to your singleness status. If you're married, be aware of the single people around you that might need company and remember you still have a higher calling too - a heavenly one. If you're a church leader please be sensitive and look at the statistics of your congregation and ask yourself, "when was the last time I spoke on the biblical framework for singleness and how will I support the single people in my church?"

A kind lady recently said to me "as a single woman you need covering as you don't have the headship like when you are married." Well that's another discussion which I'm not going into!... but what I would say is we do need community and company, so please church recognise that you are our community and don't just give us teaching which has the undercurrent theme of, "wait until you get married" as if its a much more superior calling.