Genesis 29:18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
INSIGHT -Love in Hebrew is written as ahava & it means desire & affection. Love can simply be defined as a feeling of strong attractions, emotional attachment & an act of the will. In Greek, love is classified into 8 parts. The first 4 main types are: – Agape – love of God, Storge – love for family, Philia – love between friends & Eros – love that involves sexual passions & desires. The others are Ludus – affection between young lovers, Mania – obsessive love, Philautia – self love & Pragma – love that has matured over time. Love always comes first & exists before anything else, for God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Further, the law is summarised in love (Mark 12:28-31), the fruit of the Holy Spirit is hierarchical & love comes first (Gal 5:22) & finally, love predominates the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 13:2).
-Jacob loved Rachel because of her form & beauty, & was willing to sacrifice seven years to demonstrate this love. Seven is the number of completion, thus his love for Rachel was mature. This love extended to Rachel’s offspring & after she gave birth to Joseph, he was ready to relocate to his own country (Gen 30:25). As we approach valentines, may the love of God strengthen our relationships, friendships & marriages so that we may realise the true nature of God in our lives.
PRAYER – We thank You Lord our Father for Your everlasting love & mercy for us. We humbly ask You to impart Your love in our hearts, that we may remain united to You, our partners, family members, friends, neighbours & with other nations of the world. Help us for forgive one another & find love according to Your purpose. We praise You & glorify Your name forever. Amen
Deuteronomy 7:13 ‘And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.’
INSIGHT -The love of God comes with abundant blessing & prosperity. -The Lord will bless you, your offspring’s, occupation, harvest and give you all your desires. -This was a promise made to us through our forefathers – Abraham & the descendants.
PRAYER: Father God, I love You & bless your Name for who You are. I claim the promise & blessings of my father’s. Increase Your love for me, bless me & provide my hearts desires as I start a new month. Amen
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
INSIGHT -This is the greatest commandment as Jesus echoed in Matthew 22:37. -The love of God means following his laws, teachings & what the Bible says. -When we love God unconditionally, He hears our prayer & we find favour in His eyes. -The love of God is the solution to all our problems.
PRAYER: Lord God my Father, I love You with all my heart, soul & strength. I come to thee today asking for Your mercy at Your feet. Help me in all adversities & protect me from the evil one. Holy spirit, give me the fruit of love & increase my love for You each day. Amen.
Esther 2:17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
INSIGHT -It came to pass when queen Vashti disobeyed the order of king Ahasuerus to display her beauty before his guests, when Esther was sort for. A virgin; beautiful to behold, she obtain favour & grace before the king & was made queen. Through prayer & fasting; she became very significant to the Jewish communities living in all the 127 provinces from Ethiopia to India, for she saved them from destruction under the decree of Haman. This is a picture of Christ Who will come again to save His elect. Just like God raised Esther an orphan to be queen, God has a purpose for each one of us & is going to do exploits in our lives if we trust in Him.
PRAYER – Jesus our Saviour & King, You Who are seated at the right hand of the Father, we behold the splendour of Your excellent majesty. With You in our hearts we have everything but without You we are nothing, fill us will Your love. Impart in us Your favour & grace that we may remain pleasing to You & always find the courage & wisdom to stand before all men. Journey with us each day we humbly ask You Lord. Amen
Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.
INSIGHT -Many Christians all over the world agree in fasting, prayer & giving alms to the less fortunate in preparation for Easter. At the same time we all share in love this valentines, cementing existing relationships & build new ones. Both events can be summarised in the statement ‘love covers all sins’, in realisation that Christ reclassified the law in love. By the love of God, we obtain mercy to love Him & our neighbours as ourselves. We also know that love suffers long; it is kind; it does not envy; it does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; it does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it thinks no evil. Love never fails (1 Cor 13:4-8). Let us therefore embrace love always for Christ loved us first; that our relationships with one another may never fail.
PRAYER – Lord Jesus have mercy on us & on the whole world. We humble ourselves before You King of glory asking for forgiveness of all our sins. You gave it all for us Jesus, we give all our hearts to You, fill us with Your love. Grant us wisdom & teach us how to pray, how to love, how to coexist in peace, how to apply faith, how to give, how to invest & how to dwell in Your presence, Father. May Your love tighten our friendships, interactions, family ties, marriages & diplomatic relationships that Your purposes for us may be fulfilled. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now & forever more. Amen
Song of Solomon 8:6-7 ‘Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.’
INSIGHT: -King Solomon narrates to The Shulamite her beloved. -He asks her to love him wholeheartedly, until death separates them. -Jealousy, the opposite of love is cruel & results to quarrelling, war & finally death. -True love cannot be compared to any material possession on earth. -As we approach the valentines day, extend love to someone. (spouse, family member, friend, charity).
PRAYER: Lord God, give me the fruit of love so that I can love with a pure heart. Give me the grace & wisdom to flee from any form jealousy & cruelty with those i relate with. As Your love is impartial let me love others as so. Amen.
Matthew 6:24 You Cannot Serve God and Riches “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
INSIGHT: -Jesus warns of the love of money which can hinder one from the love of God. -Mammon is an evil spirit which makes one love money more than God. -This spirit makes people turn to corruption, stealing, witchcraft, appeasing other gods for wealth. -Money & wealth can never be enough even Billionaires are never content. -But if the love of God comes first we will be content for He is our provider & all riches belong to Him.
PRAYER: Our father who at In heaven, give me this day my daily bread. Bestore in me the gift of patience & love for You so that I may be content with whatever You bless me with everyday. Depart from me the spirit of mammon so that I can only turn to You for my provision. Have mercy on me & provide for all my needs as I totally rely on You. Amen.
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
INSIGHT -Jesus Christ loves us so much that no evil can prevail in us. -He cannot forsake us incase of any tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or war. -Christ loved us & died for our sins to defeat the power of the devil who causes these problems. -With Christ in our hearts we will always overcome all the plans of the devil & all our problems.
PRAYER: Jesus Christ thank You for loving me. You died for all my sins, tribulations, distress, persecution, lack & insecurities. I welcome You into my heart to be with me always & guide me in all my weaknesses. I believe that no evil shall prevail in my life forever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 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, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
INSIGHT – The supreme love of God instituted to us by the Holy Spirit in His nature & likeness enables us to exercise His good works. It is evident from the above scriptures that love precedes all things for without God we are nothing & gain nothing despite our good efforts; for God is love. In exercising spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, sacrifices in acts of charity & to a greater extent of self sacrifice, love is imperative. May we continue praying that God may always be merciful to us so that we may bear fruit in our daily interactions.
PRAYER – Jesus our Savior, Cleanse our hearts from all unrighteousness & help us to always follow Your divine teachings. Fill us with Your gifts Holy Spirit & make us complete in Your love. In Your nature & likeness You have created us to be vessels of love, guide us always to follow Your will. May all our good works & interactions be for Your glory Lord, so that we may bear much fruit. There is no one like You Jehovah, we exult You & worship You now & forever. Amen
1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
INSIGHT – Jesus simplified the whole law in love for God & our neighbours as ourselves. There is a thin line between love for God & love for neighbour. For we know that love for God entails keeping His commandments by one’s own will aided by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, which by extension is love for one another. By loving one another; we know God for no one has seen Him at any time.
SUMMARY – Love in Hebrew is written as ahava & it means desire & affection. Love can simply be defined as a feeling of strong attractions, emotional attachment & an act of the will; for each person chooses whether to love or not. In Greek, love is classified into 8 types. The first 4 main types are: – Agape – love of God, Storge – love for family, Philia – love between friends & Eros – love that involves sexual passions & desires. The others are Ludus – affection between young lovers, Mania – obsessive love, Philautia – self love & Pragma – love that has matured over time.
-Jacob loved Rachel because of her form & beauty, & was willing to sacrifice seven years to demonstrate his love (Gen 29:18). He extended his love to Rachel’s offspring for after Joseph’s birth, he was ready to relocate the family to his own country (Gen 30:35). King Ahasuerus also loved Esther more than the other virgins. She obtained favour & grace before him & was made queen (Esther 2:17). When she prayed & fasted with her people, Esther was able to save the Jewish communities living in the 127 provinces from Ethiopia to India, when Haman made a decree to kill them. Just like God raised Esther an orphan to be queen, God has a purpose for each one of us & is going to do exploits in our lives if we pray & trust in Him. During this time of lent; many Christians all over world are also praying, fasting & giving alms to widows, orphans, the sick, those in prison & all those in need according to Jesus’ directive & secret of inheriting His kingdom (Mat 25:34-36). By these charitable acts, exercising spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit & even to a greater extent sacrificing oneself, love is key for without it we are nothing & achieve nothing (1 Cor 13:2-3). To understand the characteristics of love better we read in 1 Cor 13:4-8 that; love suffers long; it is kind; it does not envy; it does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; it does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it thinks no evil & it never fails. May we continue praying that the Holy Spirit may fill our hearts with love so that we may exercise the true nature of God in our daily interactions; for which we were created.
PRAYER – We love You Lord & all that is within us gives You praise. Teach us to love You as You please & our neighbors as ourselves. Fill us with unending love from above; Holy Spirit which never fails. We are nothing without You Jesus, help us to always do Your will. We give You thanks & praise for nothing can separate us from Your love. Amen