Lena's Journalin' Today to Deuteronomy 11

So, what is LOVE?
A Big word, huh? Is it a feeling?
Most feel it is. “If It feels good do it”, right? If you make me feel good, then you must love me, and so I probably love you too. If we both make each other feel good, that is.
Well, did you know that there are different kinds of love? The love between God and man and one that is to be reciprocated by man towards God and towards other human beings, is called agape. It is a love without conditions. Whether we feel like it or not, we can decide to operate in this kind of love.
When we read, “If you love Me, obey Me” we are speaking of agape love. It loves, because it decides to. Now, you may offend me, or make me feel bad, but I decided to anyway. The agape kind of love is the God kind of love. It is covenantal and it does, always, no matter what. It is the only appropriate response of freewill created beings, to an eternally loving Father.
This is the type of love that Jesus was up on the cross with. He had that for His Father, and His Father wanted us so the Son did that for His Father who He eternally loved. He loved us that way because His Father did. We love Him, because He first loved us, and we demonstrate it by loving one another that same way.
We demonstrate this love to God. We love Him that same way, by obeying Him, by loving the unlovely, by doing it when it doesn’t feel like it, and when there’s no visible thing in it for me. I love eternally because I decided to.
Ya know what? We don’t “have to”, but if we don’t or won’t, life is miserable for us. This is why we have tragedy, pain, and suffering. Our souls cry out to love and be loved this way. Jesus extended His own soul to love us this way. Now all of creation is awaiting the response of creation to love God back this very way, towards all creation. It groans and travails, because we have to love like this or everything is off kilter. The only thing that can set it right is LOVE. Agape love.
Ok the deal with “you don’t have to” is, that God gave us a free will and we can do whatever we want to. We can rebel, disobey, hate, live in suffering, etc. But we don’t “have to” live this way. He/Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. It is our choice, we don’t have to, but we can, if we want to.
God won’t force us to, but He loves us into it. Even consequences to wrong choices are a way of loving us into it. It makes it very clear what is right and wrong. What is of life and what is of death. It’s like circumstances can even be guides to say,” oops wrong direction, hey turn around, and let’s go this way instead”!
Do you know what “obey” means? It means “hears”, as in pierces the ear. It is hearing with full intent to do. In Hebrew the word “hear” does not mean merely listen shaking the head in acknowledgement. It means when you hear it, you respond, towards active doing.
Obey ALL He has said to DO.
Do you remember Jesus’ first miracle? His mother said, “Listen, whatever He says to do, just do it”!
This is how we get our miracles. Do what He says to do.
How many times do you read the word or hear it preached and think of all of your friends or family members who need to hear this word? Deut. is saying,”Hey man, this word is for you”! (and for me)
I have to listen to, hear, and obey the word. Yep, me.
Does God ask us to obey because He’s a dictator, or needs to have someone to have power over? Ew boy, that is such wrong thinking. God is LOVE. Love gives. He gave His own life for us, to see his purposes and Destiny fulfilled in our lives.
Ya know I can reject Him and never decide to do anything His way? He still came to die for me, and loves me, and is waiting for me to change my mind and heart.
The thing is, if I choose, there is so much to participate in, in my life. There are so many promises that can be mine and my children’s both spiritually and naturally speaking. There are generations that can be blessed through me, if I love Him, do His will, and obey.
My life has to come into obedience to live in the blessing and receive the promises. It always starts w/ me. I’m an affecter, an influencer, a reproducer of kinds like mine. I can’t with authority and power tell someone else to do what I won’t do. That hypocrisy gets passed down with deception and generations are then deceived and miss the boat of truth that they could be riding or sailing on!
One deception that is common and God is uncovering the power of, is: I can have what I want without paying any price or counting and fulfilling the cost.
Everything worth something has a price. With the kingdom of God and Christ, the price is always the giving of a life. Now whose life should we give? Yours? Yes, you can and should, but I can’t give yours, that would be in violation of the King’s rules. I can only give up my own, and if it is worth it to me to have a blessing on generations for Him, cause I love Him, I will, Willingly.
Many of us come to God because we see “J” in the line of A,B,C order. We like “J” a lot, so much that we’ll say, count me in on that one! I want a piece of that. We love what it looks like. Now we may not have realized that when we get “J” we will own and be responsible for “J” forever. If we REALLY want some of “J” we have to have all of “J”, not just part, so we have to pay the price it takes to have “J”.
The neatest thing, is The King wants us to have “J” so much too. He planned for us all to have it. He just wonders if we’ll go all the way to get it, keep it, take responsibility for it, and go on to get “L” too. He wonders if it truly is as valuable to us that we have “J” as it is to Him that we have it. So He helps lead us to “J” and soon He finds we have some of our own ideas of how to get to “J” without taking the necessary steps. The thing is there is only ONE WAY to “J”, just one. Any other way won’t work, I mean we may get to “J”, and even see it of have some for a time, but we won’t own it, for we weren’t willing to meet the criteria to be truly responsible over it. If we owned it without valuing or appreciating it, we’d lose it and God can’t have that happen to “J” for He really owns them all! Our having or owning “J” is really only temporary and is used by the king to gage how responsible over his stuff we will be.
How much do we really love Him? Do we really love “J” or Him? Are we there because we want more of Him, or just “J”? We can’t just have one without the other, we’re either all in or all out. There’s no in between.
There is another King, and we as His subjects serving His will. We saw something there we liked and wanted, but the only way to have some or it is to go His way. If we can go His way it shows if we are His or not. It’s all a test, to prove to ourselves we do want to be there with Him, willingly.
Look, today, and everyday, there’s life and blessing, or death and cursing, they are both our choices, but He gives us the best answer, “Go all the way, do whatever it takes to honestly and humbly get “J”. Pay whatever price that it costs. I’ll help you. Choose the pathway of life and blessing, no matter how much of you, you have to leave behind!” You’ll find Him along the way instead. Start the journey of promise today.