What Is True Love?Uddrag

How Do We Walk in True Love? Read 1 John 4:16-17 and John 13:34-35. What releases love? How do we rid ourselves of sin and self-love and walk forward in true love? We can’t do this without Him and without His help. It is so easy to lose focus or be thrown off. The love of Christ and the gospel is our only hope. Jesus came and lived, died, was buried, and rose again to overcome sin, Satan, and death. The Son of God who loved us also gave himself for us. He laid the path before us in His love. "Lord Jesus, I want to walk in this love. Help me put all of my hope and all of my trust in you." Reading the hymns of old saints can help us focus our mind in the fight. We hear their hearts exulting in God, worshiping Him, living lives of holiness, and loving Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. Consider these stanzas by Isaac Watts in his hymn "Awake My Zeal, Awake My Love." Does your heart long to love the Lord like this? Awake, my zeal; awake, my love, To serve my Savior here below, In works which perfect saints above And holy angels cannot go. Awake, my soul, to feed The hungry soul, and clothe the poor; In Heav’n there are none in need, Their hearts are full forevermore. Subdue my passions, O my soul! Maintain the fight, God’s work pursue, Daily my rising sins control, And the vic’tries be ever new.   The land of triumph lies on high, There are no foes t’encounter there; Lord, I would conquer till I die, And finish all the glorious war.   Let every flying hour confess I gain Thy Gospel fresh renown; And when my life and labors cease, May I possess the promised crown! Taking the Truth to Heart: Choose a Scripture to take to heart to renew your mind and transform your heart. Putting Self to Death: What specific sin is being addressed in your life by the Scripture you wrote? Paul tells us very specifically to put off the old self. Bringing the Truth to Life: Put on the new self--Christ. What very specific adjustments do you need to make in your thinking or attitude or behavior to submit to Him and apply His truth to your mind and heart?