All categories - 17 August 2006

Love is one of the most common, yet misused and misunderstood words in the English language. On the bookshelf

love is synonymous with romance and seldom used without a sexual connotation.

On television, love is depicted by programs like

Love Boat.

Commercials tempt the audience to pay for a call to a love connection,

where companions can be matched or where romantic secrets are told.

Even Christians have a very fuzzy grasp of the meaning of love. The lyrics of all too many contemporary Christian songs use the word love in a way that falls far short of that which the Bible defines and describes.

I love the way you love me are the words of one song. The meaning seems to be,

I love the warm, fuzzy way you treat me and make me feel so good.

Toyota's television commercial says the same thing

I love whatcha do for me Toyota.

No mention is made of God Himself, of who He is.

There is no mention of the chastening of the Lord as a manifestation of His love for us (see Hebrews 12:3-13).

There is no mention of our subordination or service, to God or to others.

Love is a subject of vital importance, not only because of our fuzzy ideas about what love really is, but because love is a matter of highest priority:

But now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

For a number of reasons, Paul regards love as greater even than faith and hope. To show the magnitude of the importance of our study, allow me to summarize these.

(1) Love is greater than faith and hope because love is eternal, while faith and hope are temporal (see 1 Corinthians 13:8-13). Because that which God has promised cannot presently be seen, faith and hope are necessary in this life. But when the perfect comes, when our Lord returns and we are living eternally in His presence, we will no longer need faith, for we shall see Him and experience all that He has promised. Our hope will be fulfilled. Our love for Him, however, will last for all eternity, inspiring our worship and service in His presence.

(2) Love is the appropriate response to God's love and grace, in Christ (see Luke 7:42, 47).

(3) Love is the great commandment and one of the distinguishing marks of a true disciple of our Lord (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:33; Luke 6:27-36; John 13:35; 15:12-13).

(4) Love facilitates and contributes to Christian unity (John 17:20-26; Colossians 2:2; 3:14).

(5) Love is the lubricant which greatly reduces the friction which can build up between us and others (Ephesians 4:2; 1 Peter 4:8).

(6) Love is a key motive for our obedience to our Lord's commands (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24; 15:10; 21:15-17; 1 John 5:2; 2 John 1:16).

(7) Love is a stabilizing factor in our lives (Ephesians 3:17).

(8) Love is the goal of Paul's teaching as it should be the goal of all Christian teaching (1 Timothy 1:5).

(9) Love is the one command which encompasses all aspects of our Christian life (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 16:14).

(10) Love makes our service more profitable to others and to us (1 Corinthians 8:1; 13:1-13).

(11) Love is a key element in our defenses against Satan's attacks and devices (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

(12) Our love can and should be constantly growing (Philippians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 10:24; 2 Peter 1:7).

(13) Our love can grow cold, especially in difficult times (Matthew 24:12; Revelation 2:4)
http://www.angelfire.com/mb2/memberofheart/allforyou/WishingYou.html

2006-08-17 00:55:52 · 6 answers · asked by Heart 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-08-17 00:55:49 · 12 answers · asked by cintumas 2 in Other - Destinations

How did it make you feel?

2006-08-17 00:55:48 · 13 answers · asked by laughsall 4 in Polls & Surveys

I disputed a few things that I know weren't right on my credit report, why in the hell would my score drop 52 points all of a sudden during this process? Any advice would help. Thx .....

2006-08-17 00:55:37 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Credit

2006-08-17 00:55:23 · 14 answers · asked by jhon 1 in Genealogy

I have been trying to solve this mystery geocache called "Clas of 43" on geocaching.com and would appreciate any help. The part I am stuck on is calculating the distance the cannon ball travels. If I can get that right, I can solve the rest of the mystery using the great circle calculator link on the cache page. Here is a link to the cache:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=55b5bf3a-1a0f-482f-93dc-2341dede5ebb

2006-08-17 00:55:10 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Mathematics

Whats all this oneluv crap?? We all no that Manchester is BLUE!!

2006-08-17 00:55:01 · 23 answers · asked by simonhickinbotham 2 in English Football

2006-08-17 00:54:55 · 2 answers · asked by antonio candolesas 1 in Primary & Secondary Education

2006-08-17 00:54:51 · 2 answers · asked by katyonok 1 in Investing

I'm 18/ I'm a student in St.Petersburg State University,RUSSIA. I wanna apply to US green card to go to USA and live and study there and later on have a family there. will I be able to do it? If u win a green card for long u will be able to stay in US. will I become a citizen after 5 years of staying in US or what?
PLEASE help and I would really appreciate it
u can also e-mail me at anastasia_limonova @yahoo.com

2006-08-17 00:54:48 · 7 answers · asked by stacy_candy 1 in Immigration

i have pain in my feet and ankle . I stand for long hours and i need a solution

2006-08-17 00:54:43 · 12 answers · asked by des 1 in Injuries

I'm dead serious. Don't joke around here. I've never actually met her, so you'll have to walk me through it from scratch. I'm a good looking 34 year old white male hip hop singer going to law school in New York City. My website is: www.loganhiphop.com. Help a guy out here.

2006-08-17 00:54:34 · 11 answers · asked by logan2012 1 in Celebrities

2006-08-17 00:54:32 · 6 answers · asked by gegs1957 1 in Other - Cars & Transportation

What would you like me to wear? What would you want to do? Would you even GO on a date with me?


humor me.

2006-08-17 00:54:31 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Singles & Dating

When somebody leaves the office in the evening for home, why do we say "left for the day" when they leaves for the night.

2006-08-17 00:54:21 · 14 answers · asked by rafeeq_abbas 1 in Quotations

I'm sure we've all seen pictures of girls who have made a bikini top out of 2 half coconuts. Well I am thinking about making one for a theme party I have coming up. Anyone ever worn one? Any tips? How did you get it to stay on? Was it comfy?

2006-08-17 00:54:19 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Fashion & Accessories

Would you trust a woman like this?

2006-08-17 00:54:10 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Polls & Surveys

2006-08-17 00:54:05 · 9 answers · asked by Joe K 6 in Commuting

Is there any free website through which I can learn HTML?

2006-08-17 00:54:01 · 12 answers · asked by Nisha 4 in Programming & Design

Peace and Love

2006-08-17 00:53:57 · 21 answers · asked by digilook 2 in Religion & Spirituality

i can have only one time sex with my wife per day ?is it normal

2006-08-17 00:53:55 · 16 answers · asked by samir 1 in Men's Health

Just curious.

2006-08-17 00:53:44 · 6 answers · asked by kitty_lovr08 1 in Other - Family & Relationships

I've seen some bad press about Arnie. Is he a real life hero or villain?

2006-08-17 00:53:42 · 25 answers · asked by Nothing to say? 3 in Politics

If you are want to trade information? I'm working on Rhodes family in Indiana, that came from Ohio from Pa. But I also have found another branch from Ky, Va, NC, and TN. I'm assuming they are the same family, but I'm not sure.

2006-08-17 00:53:42 · 3 answers · asked by JBWPLGCSE 5 in Genealogy

Does anybody know a Chiara from Milan. She used to work in Cafeteria in Marbella opposite the Sol Banco. If so tatepublications@yahoo.co.uk
Could you make her aware of me and to get her to e-mail me.

2006-08-17 00:53:39 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Friends

2006-08-17 00:53:35 · 10 answers · asked by browneyedgirl 6 in Words & Wordplay

Spider-man, Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and on and on. Agree?

2006-08-17 00:53:29 · 11 answers · asked by The Riddler 3 in Books & Authors

cause some shemale answered my Q she wrote some annoying stuff that shows how boring she is .. the problem is i dunno why she or he answered it i said its only for girls .. LOL
the shemela started correcting my English .. wow yesterday it was a shemale now its an english teacher

2006-08-17 00:53:25 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Gender Studies

For once I'll join the masses and say best story gets 10 points.

(and no copying from movies...i know all of those stories)

2006-08-17 00:53:19 · 22 answers · asked by Diesel Weasel 7 in Polls & Surveys