Possessed.

Mat 15:21  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 

Mat 15:22  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 

Mat 15:23  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

Mat 15:25  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 

Mat 15:26  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 

Mat 15:27  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 

Mat 15:28  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. 

This woman's daughter grievously vexed with a devil.

This mother, a Canaanite who was not an Israelite came out to where Jesus and the disciples had just arrived and cried out to Him. First she asked for something - 'HAVE MERCY ON ME' she said this before she even acknowledged His authority.  She needed MERCY. She needed- compassion and forbearance. She KNEW she didn't deserve to be talking with Jesus. She knew she had no right whatsoever to come to Jesus. She was unclean to those of Jesus' religion, she was a Gentile. Maybe those of His own faith had a certain right to Jesus' attention, but not her. Before she could ever think about Jesus listening to her, she KNEW she needed His mercy, His compassion, His forbearing of her very presence. After crying out for mercy

she recognized Jesus as the Son of David. Being a non-Israelite she had heard of Jesus' fame, His ability to cast out demons and heal people. She didn't call out Jesus' name, she called Him the Son of David. 

Why did she call Him the Son of David, this woman who wasn't even from the Israelite lineage?

Samuel is given a message for David from the LORD--

2Sa 7:8  Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 

2Sa 7:9  And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. 

2Sa 7:10  Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 

2Sa 7:11  And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. 

2Sa 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 

2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 

2Sa 7:14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 

2Sa 7:15  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 

2Sa 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 

There would come from David a descendent that would be God's Son. God's Son would establish a kingdom. This was the prophesized Messiah to come. The Canaanite woman knew of this prophecy of a Messiah to come. The promise of a Messiah was NO secret. This was a huge part of the Israelite religion- the coming Messiah. Being such a prominent aspect of this religion it wasn't surprising a non-Israelite would know of the prophecy.  Surely the woman had to have heard of all the wonderful miracles Jesus and His disciples were doing, how else would she have known that He could help her? She KNEW and she BELIEVED from what she'd heard. Maybe she had a relative who had been healed, or a friend, we just don't know. What we do know is she recognize immediately that Jesus was the promised Messiah from the lineage of David. She didn't call out to Him as a teacher,  or even by His name, she called out His authority, His title. 

After calling out to the Messiah of a religion, of a people that she didn't belong to, the Canaanite woman then told Him why she was talking to Him at all.  '…my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil!' She didn't just say her daughter was vexed with a devil, rather she emphasized this fact. Her daughter was GRIEVIOUSLY vexed with a devil.   What did she mean by this statement?

The Greek word-

G1139

δαιμονίζομαι

daimonizomai

Thayer Definition:

1) to be under the power of a demon.

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: middle voice from G1142

G1142

δαίμων

daimōn

Thayer Definition:

1) a god, a goddess

1a) an inferior deity, whether good or bad

2) in the NT, an evil spirit

The word is used 25 times in the New Testament-

G1139

δαιμονίζομαι

daimonizomai

Total KJV Occurrences: 25

possessed, 11

Mat_4:24, Mat_8:16, Mat_8:28, Mat_8:33, Mat_9:32, Mat_12:22, Mar_1:32, Mar_5:15-16 (2), Mar_5:18, Luk_8:36

devil, 7

Mat_9:32, Mat_15:22 (2), Mar_5:15-16 (2), Mar_5:18, Joh_10:21

devils, 6

Mat_4:24, Mat_8:16, Mat_8:28, Mat_8:33, Mar_1:32, Luk_8:36

vexed, 1

Mat_15:22

This word - this statement 'vexed with a devil'.G1139 - is associated with demon possession- 11 times the word is used for being possessed, it is used for the word devil 7 times, devils 6 times.  Clearly the woman believed her daughter to be horribly possessed by a devil.  We are going to look up the other references of possession before we continue--

Possessed-

1. Matt 4:24  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 

2. Matt 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick

3. Matt 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 

4. Matt 8:33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 

5. Matt 9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

6. Matt 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

7. Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 

8 & 9 Mark 5:15-16  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 

 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 

10. Mark 5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 

11. Luke 8:36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

Devil-

1.  Mat_9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 

2&3  Mat_15:22 (2) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 

4 & 5 Mar_5:15-16 (2) And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 

And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 

6. Mar_5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 

7. Joh_10:21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? 

Devils-

1. Mat_4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

2. Mat_8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick

3. Mat_8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

4.  Mat_8:33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

5. Mar_1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 

6. Luk_8:36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed

Vexed-

1. Mat_15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 

Clearly there is a distinction between those sick, diseased, lunatic, and those possessed by devils. Not all who are sick, diseased, lunatic are possessed by devils. There was this--

Joh 9:1  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 

Joh 9:2  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 

Joh 9:3  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 

Joh 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 

Joh 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 

Who did sin - this man or his parents, whose sin caused him to be blind from birth?

Jesus told them NEITHER! Neither the parents nor their son's sins caused the blindness. To assume health afflictions are all caused by personal sin, or the sins of the parents is wrong! We know that sin in and of itself brought into existence by Satan is the root cause of all evil- all sickness, yet here we are told by Jesus Himself that the man was ALLOWED blindness so that the miracle of God could be performed.

Not all are afflicted are possessed by demons any more than all who are sick are sick because of their personal sins or sins of others. These things are allowed for reasons known to God and through faith we trust that His will be done- whether that means healing, or suffering, or even death.

Someone can be lunatic- mentally afflicted without being possessed by a demon. So how do we know which is which. How did that mother know her daughter was afflicted with demon possession? How did others throughout the land during all of Jesus' ministry and even afterwards, know who was possessed?

I don't have that answer just yet, I pray God reveals it to me.

More tomorrow by the grace and mercy, the will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever!!!!!!!

We Can't Hide From God.

Jer 23:23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 

Jer 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

None can hide from God, none. We can try to hide but it won't work. The LORD can see us anywhere we are. Our God is ALL seeing and He knows us.

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 

Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 

Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 

Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 

Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof

Our Heavenly Father knows our every need.  So immediately some might think - then why doesn't he fulfill all our needs? We have to realize that we are to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  And we have to realize that our first need is to know God, if we don't know God then by His will He is prayerfully using all He can in life to guide us to know Him. Sometimes we have to go through awful things, near death things, painful, long lasting things in order for us to know Him and that's because WE are stubborn, we are hard-hearted, we are willfully blind. God would NEVER allow harm to befall us needlessly, never! Anyone that goes through horrific things is going through them for reasons beyond our full comprehension.

We have a new kingdom to look forward too, we have hope through Jesus Christ our Lord, for a future without any of the horrors of this world ruled by Satan. God knows us, God loves us, we need to know God and love Him. When we choose not to know God, He won't force us to know Him. While He knows us, He won't force us to know Him. Only when we choose to know Him can a relationship, a spiritual relationship begin. If we close ourselves off from our Savior, He won't know us spiritually at all.

God loves us, and eternal life given to us by His Son Jesus Christ our Lord is proof of that love.  This isn't our final home, this isn't all there is, we are pilgrims upon this earth and we are looking for a new world, a world to come that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and many other of God's chosen have yet to attain. Right now they sleep death's sleep but when our Savior returns they will rise from their graves to meet Him in the air and prayerfully we will be among them!

All through the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever!!!!!!!  

The Comforter.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever 

We must love in DEEDS not WORDS. So is it any wonder that our Savior wants us to KEEP the commandments He gave to us? Our Savior wants us to love in DEED- KEEPING the commandments. We have to ask ourselves why Jesus would say 'If you Love me- keep my commandments', if He didn't care if we kept them or not. Not only did Jesus say- 'If you love me- keep my commandments' He also added- AND…. He said, AND.    How often have we done the exact same thing in different ways? Have you said to someone- 'Do that for me, AND I'll do this for you.'  If you do that, I'll do this, isn't that what the AND is implying?  'If you love me- keep my commandments and I will….'   If we love our Savior we should keep His commandments, yet our Savior wants to give us added incentive.  If we love Him and keep His commandments then He is going to pray to the Father, and the Father will give us another Comforter that will live with us forever.

IF we…  then He will…

I didn't write those words they are right there in God's word.  I suppose that having the Comforter the God will give us isn't something someone who is unwilling to keep Jesus' commandments would really want.  Loving Jesus- recognizing the debt He paid for us- of course we want to listen to Him and follow His commandments!  We don't want to keep the commandments to be saved, only Jesus can save us. We want to keep the commandments because the ONE who saves us desires us to keep them- they are special gifts given to us- instruction into the will of God. 
 

Who is the Comforter that Jesus promises to pray to the Father for us to have?

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you

The Comforter - the SPIRIT of truth.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit…

The HOLY SPIRIT!

The Holy Spirit will dwell with us, and will be IN us.

If we…then He…

Loving Jesus- our love is revealed in our actions, and those actions reveal to our Savior that we are in need of the Comforter and He gives us the Comforter to live IN US.

If LOVE results in living as our Savior commands, we are given a gift of God in us!

The Holy Spirit God.

Act 5:1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 

Act 5:2  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 

Act 5:3  But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 

Act 5:4  Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 

Peter said- "… why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…"  And then continued- "…thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

How amazing blessed we are to have the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter living with us and in us, all because we love our Savior and do His will, as He does the will of the Father.

Such love, such amazing love!

All through the LOVE, the GRACE, the MERCY, the SACRIFICE of our SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, now and forever!!!!!!!

Love In Deed.

1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 

Our love means nothing if there are no acts of love. Speaking the words- I love you- mean nothing if they are followed by abusive words and actions. A person can say that they know soandso loves them even if they can't show it, but if it's not shown how is it love? We can show we love someone by our actions. My father wasn't an affectionately demonstrative man towards me or my siblings. I can say I knew my father loved me, but I don't remember the words coming from his lips- ever. His actions showed his love though. He cared for me basic needs- let me stay with a roof over my head up to 22 years old without asking for me to pay rent or otherwise. Along with that roof came food and clothing, as well as doctor appts. As a child I can remember a few stand out moments that revealed he loved me, but again, we didn't hug easily in my family or speak about loving each other. I'd like to be able to say my mother was different and made up for my dad's lack of physical/verbal affection, but she wasn't, not readily. As I grew older I could hug her, and tell her I loved her and she'd say it back but that was when I was much older. I knew she loved me, I knew my dad loved me, but they weren't loving me in words they were loving me in deeds.

God wants us to love in DEED, not in words.  God doesn't want us to tell people we love them and neglect to show them our love for them. God would rather we SHOW our love.

So how do we show our love for others?

Mat_5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

Heb 6:10  For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 

Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

These are just a few verses instructing us on how we show our love for others. We think of THEM before ourselves. We give. We help.

Lord PLEASE help us to SHOW our love. Let our LOVE be in DEEDS not just in words!

All through YOUR power, all through the Holy Spirit, all by Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!!

Teach Us You.

If there has to be a bottom line in Christianity it would be- love.

What is love-

1Jn_4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1Jn_4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

A few days ago we talked about those who do many wonderful things and the fact of the matter being, you can do amazingly wonderful, seemingly loving things and have no love at all in you.

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Many wonderful works- yet Jesus doesn't know them because there was no real love in them.

God is love.

When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan - He was describing an act of love.

Luk 10:25  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 

Luk 10:26  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 

Luk 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 

Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 

Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 

Luk 10:30  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 

Luk 10:31  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

Luk 10:32  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 

Luk 10:33  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 

Luk 10:34  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

Luk 10:35  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 

Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 

Luk 10:37  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 

Compassion, caregiving, feeding, tending to without EVER expecting anything in return.  That was done out of love. Sure, it could have been done out of self-serving- someone wanting others to notice their *love* but it wasn't, not in this parable.

Love. And it isn't self-love we need, though nowadays a lot of people would say I was crazy for saying that because there is a huge push for loving ourselves first before we can love others.

Some use this though--

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 

Loving your neighbor as yourself…  is this telling us to love ourselves?

Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 

If we have no love for ourselves does this mean we can't love others? No, because we are loving others as WE desire to be loved. We are loving them as if they were US. We are treating them NOT how we are treated, but how we'd want to be treated. 

We do not have to love ourselves in the way we are encouraged to. We LOVE God and LOVE others, to the point we are willing to die for them, not preserve our lives above and beyond theirs. When we love others, we are loving ourselves, when we concentrate on loving ourselves we lose sight of others and we can never lose sight of others.

God forgive us, teach us love, teach us YOU.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!!!!!!!

The Royal Law

Jas 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 

Rom 13:9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Rom 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned

1Jn 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 

1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 

1Jn 4:9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 

1Jn 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1Jn 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 

1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us. 

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 

1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 

Jas 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

Mar 12:28  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 

Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. 

Love.

Love.

Love is so incredibly important, seriously the most important thing there is. God's first commandment to His chosen is - to love God.

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

We HAVE to remember that the ONLY GREAT COMMANDMENTS the people had were the ten moral commandments.

Jesus KNEW that the first four commandments were all about LOVING GOD, and the last six commandments were all about loving our fellowman. JESUS KNEW because He was there when GOD gave the commandments, HE WAS THERE in agreement with the FATHER. Jesus wants US to know that those moral ten commandments were NOT being done away with! What reason would there ever be to get rid of commandments that are about LOVING HIM, LOVING the HEAVENLY FATHER- and LOVING EACH OTHER? There would be NO REASON. We deceive ourselves if we believe any of those ten commandments are not about loving God and our fellowman. 

Exo 20:1  And God spake all these words, saying, 

Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 

Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 

Exo 20:6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 

Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 

When we are told in Corinthians thirteen about love we are being told about God.

1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 

We are NOTHING without love.

1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 

NOTHING WITHOUT OUT LOVE!

1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 

Imagine… giving all you have to feed the poor,  imagine being willing to die and NOT HAVING LOVE.  We equate those acts with love, don't we? But the truth is, we can do acts of seeming love without any love at all! Its shocking, it's hard to comprehend, isn't it? Can you give up everything for the poor so they can eat, and not have love, how?! Maybe there is an underlying  element of self-serving there that no one can see, perhaps the person doesn't even realize it? We NEED LOVE above all!

1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 

1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Please, may we LOVE as God would have us LOVE!!!!!!!  All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!!