March 13-Peefect Love

Happy Wednesday to you. Yesterday, my sweet daughter-in-law sent me an excerpt from her morning Bible study by Kelly Minter. It had touched her and I thought it was so good that I wanted to share it with you. It is based on I John 4,, where John is explaining God’s perfect love and how when we experience it, it changes everything. 


“...God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:16-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬


“We fear we haven’t done enough, which we haven’t. We fear we’re not good enough, which we’re not. We fear we have sinned recklessly, which we have. We fear we don’t have enough faith, which we don’t. But verse 19 surpasses our countless fears and failures with a truth that trumps them all: we love because He first loved us.” (Kelly Minter, What Love Is)


He first loves us. And because He first loves us, we are free to love and with that love, fear is gone. Don’t you love that one phase “perfect love expels all fear”? Once we fully experience that perfect love of God, there is no reason, no place for that fear to abide. Just like Paul told Timothy, “God did not give us that spirit of fear...but of power, love and self-discipline.” Hallelujah! 


Father of Love, we come before you today laying all our fear and lack of faith at your feet. We ask you to replace it with your perfect love, power and self-discipline. Your perfect love will cast out all our fear and our timidity and any doubts that are filling up the corners of our lives. We give ourselves completely to you, our wise King. We want you to be the air we breathe and the song we sing. Praise you Jehovah Rohi, our Shepherd. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam

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