Tag: Looking for Love

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Love God: The Greatest Commandment

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. But people often look in ever place they can to try to find love, except in the one place it is guaranteed: in God. In fact, Johnny Lee sings about looking for love in all the wrong places. And that’s what we do – we look for it in all the wrong places. We search for love in other people, in family, in children, in parents, in hobbies, jobs, money, fast cars, sports, clothes, and even shoes. In today’s world, you can even find a fake love in a virtual reality world.

If you’re looking for love, there’s really no limits to where you can look. And whenever there are no limits – we tend to go overboard. And when you look for love in the wrong places, you will always be left feeling as if you haven’t found it.

The Right Place to Look for Love

There is one place that is the right place to look for love – and that’s in loving God. God created us with a longing for His love and when we look for it anywhere other than in Him, we’re looking in the wrong place. Yes, we are to love our spouses, children, family, and our neighbors. But that deep-down longing to love and be loved can only be filled by God.

Love God with all our heart, soul and mind

Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-38 that the greatest commandment is that we are love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Notice that Jesus used the heart first. The heart is representative of our emotions, especially love. So loving God naturally begins with the heart. But genuine love doesn’t just stay in heart. Where there is love, it will manifest through one’s actions and words. It is expressed in the choices we make, the thoughts we think and how we live our life. Let’s say your spouse said, “I love you” but his/her actions and lifestyle showed something quite different. Would you believe he/she loved you? What if you claim to love God, but never go to church, cuss, drink alcohol, sleep around, and steal from your neighbor. Would God believe you Him? What does your lifestyle, actions, and words reveal about how you love God?

Love God with All

Another thing to notice is that Jesus said we are love with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. Did you see that He used the word all each time? I can say I love God, my husband, pizza, and Hershey’s Symphony bars. But I don’t love pizza like I love my husband. And I don’t love my husband like a love God. God wants our all. We can’t love God today and not tomorrow. We can’t love Him, but also live like the world. But, we should love God above all else and in total completeness.

Why should we love God?

Why should we love God? First because He made us to love Him. Only humans were created in the image of God. Of all of God’s creation, we were the only ones given a soul. We were the ones created to fellowship with God. But sin broke the fellowship and created separation. That is why we are always looking for love in the wrong places. The purpose of our existence is to love, worship, and glorify God. So when we are not loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, there’s an emptiness longing to be filled and we look for it everywhere except where the answer is.

We love God because He first loved us

We should also love Him because He first loved us. Even though we were sinners separated from God, He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sin so that through Christ’s shed blood the broken relationship caused by our sin could be restored. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13).

We love God because He adopts us into His family

We should also love Him because He adopts us into His family, making us joint heirs with Jesus. When we place our faith in Christ and confess our sins and make Him our Lord and Savior, we become sons and daughters of God.

Examine your love for God

Each of us should examine our love for God. Is it with all our heart, soul, and mind? What do you love more than God? Whatever that is, it’s an idol so put it back in its proper place and give God his. If you say you love God, does you lifestyle, actions, and words prove it? If you’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places, try looking for love in the right place – in loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

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The Valentine’s Collection

Beloved Collection: This Valentine’s Day, let your spouse know how much you love them. Based on the Bible Verse, Song of Solomon 3:4, the bottom line reads, “I have found the one whom my soul loves.”

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I have found the one whom my soul loves: Based on Song of Solomon 3:4 

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God’s Plan: God’s design for marriage is one woman, one man Woven into oneness with Christ – this is God’s plan

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Greatest Valentine’s: On Valentine’s Day, we celebrate love and there’s no greater love than Christ who laid down His life so that we can have eternal life. Includes John 3:16.

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God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

  • Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
  • Conversation Starters.
  • Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
  • Romance Builders.
  • Relationship Builders.
  • Personal reflections.
  • Date ideas.
  • Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

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1 Corinthians 13:2

Lucy wants to be loved

Aren’t we all like Lucy? We all want to be loved. But what kind of love do we give away? Musical artist Johnny Lee sings the following lyrics:

I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places Lookin’ for love in too many faces Searchin’ their eyes Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of Hoping to find a friend and lover I’ll bless the day I discover Another heart lookin’ for love

How many of us look for love in all the wrong places? Hobbies, spouses, careers, children, family, friends, sports, affairs…all trying to find a love that fills us. We’ll never find it in these things. As Christians we understand that what we search and longing for in these things is only found through a personal relationship with Christ. Yet, love isn’t just something we look for to fulfill our own needs. It’s also something we are to give away to others. (Click to tweet)  Jesus said we are to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39). He even told us that we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). So whether you file a person under “neighbor” or “enemy” we still have to love them. (Click to tweet)

In another cartoon, Lucy yells at Charlie Brown and says, “Look, Blockhead, the world I love. Its people I can’t stand.” Our world definitely needs love. We choose to love certain people whom we deem worthy of our love and the ones that don’t measure up or are different than us we stick a label on them and turn our noses up and walk away…or even worse say unkind things. The simple truth is loving other people is difficult…and some are harder than others!

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the give of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” Nothing. It doesn’t matter how successful we are. It doesn’t matter what degrees or titles we have. It doesn’t matter if your the lead pastor or the person that sits in the back of the church hoping not to be noticed. It doesn’t matter if you give the biggest tithes or the smallest. It doesn’t matter….without love (Click to tweet). 1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.” Love is just part of who He is. And if we are His children, then it should be part of who we are too (click to tweet).

1 Corinthians 13 is known as the “love chapter” and it is often read or quoted at Christian weddings. What we learn from this chapter is that love is more than something we feel. The word ‘love’ is a verb and verbs require action. Love is an action. You can tell someone you love them all day, but if you ignore them, do or say unkind things, never spend time with that person, will they feel loved by you? Probably not. The love Paul talks about in this chapter is something that is both experienced and demonstrated.

If you have been married for very long, then there has probably been a moment where the feeling of love may not have been as strong as it has at other times and maybe there have been some moments where the feeling of love was even non-existent. However, if we were married only on the days where we feel like loving our spouse, it wouldn’t be much of a marriage.

Paul compares love to the spiritual gifts of, prophecy, knowledge, and faith. Prophecy refers to the ability to declare God’s truth in a powerful, life-changing way. Knowledge involves the deep understanding of God’s Word. Faith is the unique ability to trust God for great things. Paul says that the Holy Spirit can give you all three of these spiritual gifts but if you do not have love, then you are nothing. Love is the greatest expression of our faith and belief in Christ. (click to tweet)

The simple fact is, as a Christian, the world can see every spiritual gift we have been given, but if we do not love the lost, expressing love to them through the use of those gifts, then what good are the gifts we’ve been given? If we “minister” out of duty or expectation, rather than out of love, then what is the point of what we do?(Click to tweet) God knows the motivation for what we do. If we are not ministering and serving with a genuine love for all people we might as well not be serving at all. God didn’t place us in our respective areas of service or ministry so that we are fulfilling our own needs. He placed us there to love others…even the ones we would consider unlovable. (Click to tweet) In God’s eyes there are no “unloveables.” Jesus died for each and every one of us, regardless of economic status, nationality, skin color, or language. He sacrificed his love for every human being, regardless of our messy pasts and current troubles.

Lucy, in the cartoon above, recognized that like everyone else she needed love. But often, we have to give away love before we can find love. When we stop focusing on our own needs, we are able to recognize the needs of others and then we are in a position for God to point out to us the very people He wants to love on through how we speak, treat, and interact with them. (click to tweet) 

God is love. We are His children. If love is who He is, then love should be who we are. Go out and give away God’s love to someone who needs it today. (click to tweet)

 

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Click to tweet 1 Corinthians 13:2.

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We have a new product line of Christian apparel and gifts available in our Teespring Store and our new Spreadshop Store. You’ll find tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, socks, leggings, tote bags, mugs, iphone cases and more. All proceeds go to the advancement of Wellspring Christian Ministries. Thank you for helping us grow!

Click here to view the Teespring store. 

Click here to view the Spreadshop Store which has a 15% discount through August 9, 2019

Cover_m God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel

 

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Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.

Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.

Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.

With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities.

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Or call us at 904.524.8073