The theme of “Love” is expressed quite often during the Christmas Season. Church Christmas programs will have titles like, “Love Came Down” or “The Gift of Love.” At Christmas, more than any other time, we talk about the love of God expressed through the gift of Jesus Christ, born to Joseph and Mary, in Bethlehem.

love freely given

Remembering His love is certainly appropriate, as God’s action of taking on human flesh for the redemption of the world is an expression of love that we often have a hard time believing. It is a love that forgives, heals, restores, redeems, transforms, and delivers. It is a love that breaks every chain, that conquers every sin, and best of all, this love is freely given. We sense the reality of God’s love as we ponder the miracle of the incarnation. As we gaze more at what He has done, it produces, in us, a warm feeling, especially during this Christmas season.

But, the warm feeling is not all that needs to be understood about love, or even Christmas. True love does not just pat us on the back and put an arm around our shoulders, because affirmation is not always what we need most.

true and perfect love

Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem, God’s gift of Love, grew to be a man, and began to preach a message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” True and perfect love does not do what feels good to us, true and perfect love does what is good for us. Jesus came to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the greatest act of love possible.

The first way Christ allows us to experience His truest form of love is to make us aware of our sin. Jesus is the Truth, and His Word is Truth as well. His Truth stands in stark contrast to the lies that characterize our world and our lives. To be aware of the Truth when we are comfortable living in our deception can often be a painful experience…

but exposing us to that truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, is the most pure and perfect expression of love.

the loving message of christmas

There is a warm feeling that comes from experiencing love during Christmas to be sure, but we must not equate love with something that only causes good “feelings.” Love is not superficial, and thus, it is not content to simply produce shallow, momentary feelings. Ultimately, love will give us the chance to feel good, by enabling us to become good. Love is deep, profound, transformative, and eternal, and the work of love will always be consistent with those attributes.

In our society, we have confused love with many things. To speak truth, to confront sin, to encourage repentance, to make someone uncomfortable, to not accept, affirm, and celebrate any and every thought, feeling, and expression of another is considered hate. Christmas reminds us that the Gift of Love came not to make us feel good in our sin, but to wage war against our sin. Christmas must shine the light of truth on the horror of our sin, call us to turn away from our sin, and eradicate sin from our lives. This is the reality of love. This is why the Baby came. This is what the Gift of Love is. This is the loving message of Christmas.

Ash Wednesday

As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.

Being Connected

Despite being more technologically linked than ever, studies now show loneliness and disconnection are at an all-time high. How does this trend truly affect your spiritual life and personal connection with God?

Maintaining a Life of Integrity

Every believer agrees that maintaining our integrity is one of best things we could for our spiritual life, but does it have to be so difficult. Read more to find out how to build consistency with maintaining your integrity.

Who You Are When No One is Looking

In a broken world that is constantly trying to bring us down, striving for genuine righteousness throughout our lives is not easy, but the good news is… it is possible.

Five Things You May Not Know About the Lord’s Prayer

Do you Pray “The Prayer?” This prayer unites Christians in all parts of the world. Though the Lord’s Prayer is well known to believers everywhere, when you look hard at its words, you can learn from how this prayer can guide and impact your daily life.

The Cross

The cross casts the most significant shadow in all of human history. It is where we see the righteousness, justice, and love of God working together for our great good. This Easter, our thoughts are centered around the cross, upon which Jesus Christ was crucified.

Lion and the Lamb

The scriptures speak of Jesus in extremes, as both the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The most important thing to remember is that Jesus is always able to be exactly what you need!

An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Everyone has their own opinion about what has happened at the events sounding the revival at Asbury University. But it is hard to deny there is truly a movement of God taking place.

Three Ways Christian Leaders Lead Differently

Here are three key aspects of leadership to consider if you want to lead from a true Biblical perspective.

Trust But Verify

In order to navigate between what is true in our world today, the adage “trust, but verify,” is an essential concept as we learn to discern God’s voice from all the other voices surrounding us.

Proclamation and Practice

In many parts of the world, Christians can practice their faith but can not proclaim it. Does your life help others see and hear the Gospel?

The Battle Plan

Most Christians would agree that we are involved in a battle. Paul speaks of this battle and gives us four keys to fighting successfully in this spiritual engagement. Let’s look at each of these four crucial components for victory in the battle.