What is True Love and How Do You Know When You Have found It?

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” —1 Chorinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)

This verse describes the characteristics of true love. These qualities can certainly be found in the person of Jesus Christ, and they can be found in all truly loving relationships. The problem with trying to “find” love in our dating lives, is that too often we don't look for these characteristics. Rather we look at physical appearance, popularity, or wealth. These are not the qualities that God looks at and neither should we.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “…The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
—1 Samuel 16:7b (NIV)

Love is best seen as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. Certainly our emotions are involved, but they cannot be our only criteria for love. True devotion will always lead to action—true love.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with ACTIONS and in truth.
      1 John 3:18 (NIV)

Christ was devoted to us enough to give his own life for us (Romans 5:8), even when he didn't feel like it (Matthew 26:39).
Sex is not love! Our culture has taught us that sex and love are one in the same. This is a lie. Sex is a beautiful God-given activity that is wonderful when practiced within the boundaries of a Biblical marriage. Sex is the completion of the binding of two people within Biblical marriage; it is a God-given gift.

PRE-MARITAL SEX

Because premarital sex is not love, it only leads to pain and disappointment for those who are seeking that love. The Bible says that when two people are married, they become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31). Sex is consummation of that union. When two people break off their relationship after having sex, it is like ripping apart flesh. This is why two teenagers will struggle so much and become so dependent on those they give their bodies to. In light of 1 Chorinthians(above), it is easy to see that premarital sex is not patient, it is not kind, it does not protect, it is self-seeking. It is not love!

IDENTIFYING TRUE LOVE

We can only identify true love and know when we have found it, based on the Words of God. When we match our relationships up to what the Bible says that love is—and we are honestly prepared to make a life-long commitment to that person—then we can say that we are truly “in love.” The three keys to that statement are:
We have to…

1. …look at the Words of God
2. …be completely honest with ourselves
3. …understand the level of commitment that comes with true love

What is Prayer?

What is Prayer? – Talking With God
What is prayer? Prayer is our direct line with heaven. Prayer is a communication process that allows us to talk to God! He wants us to communicate with Him, like a person-to-person phone call. Cell phones and other devices have become a necessity to some people in today’s society. We have bluetooth devices, blackberries, and talking computers! These are means of communication that allow two or more people to interact, discuss, and respond to one another.

To many people, prayer seems complicated, but it is simply talking to God. Here are some points about what prayer is:
What is Prayer? – The Logistics
Many people question what is prayer because they desire to pray, but don’t know how. Consider these tips:

• What Do I Say? Praying is like talking to your best friend! It’s easy to talk to someone when you know they love you unconditionally!

• 1. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and make you new in Him! “Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins” (Acts 3:19).
  2. Tell Him your needs! “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (1Peter 9:7).
  3. Thank Him, for He died on the cross at Calvary for us! “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

How Do I Say It? Here’s how I have learned to approach the Savior of my life.

1. With confidence and belief that He will deliver: “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome” (Ephesians 3:12). “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (Hebrews 4:16).
2. With joy that He can deliver. “You have shown me the way of life, and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence” (Acts 2:28).
3. With expectation that He is going to deliver. “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly” (Psalms 5:3). “I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray” (Psalm 17:6).

What is Prayer? - What Does the Bible Say?
Pray for each other. Jesus set an example for us on what to pray. He prayed for His disciples and for every generation to come that would follow Him. His prayer was that God protect and strengthen them as long as they were in this world. Jesus also prayed for those who would come to believe in Him through the Gospel message (John 17).

Pray with faith. “So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Pray with worship and reverence. “Exalt the LORD our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!” (Psalms (99:5). “‘Yes, Lord,’ the man said, ‘I believe!’ And he worshiped Jesus” (John 9:38).

You will know with confidence that God can hear you when you pray, so open that line of communication! Pray, knowing that no matter how far you roam, your connection with Him can never be lost!

“I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding” (Philippians 1:9).

Christian Worship-Pray To God

Christian Worship - More Than Music
Christian worship is often thought of as the music portion of a church service - people singing songs to God, heads back, eyes closed, and hands raised in the air as they sing. Christian worship happens when we sing to God, whether in church or alone - in our cars or in the shower. If our desire is to please the heart of God, it is worship, no matter where the location or how many are involved.

Music affects our emotions and the lyrics can swell our hearts, causing us to become lost in the experience. Christian praise and worship music is a great tool for helping us feel closer to God. It's not uncommon for people to even pick a church because of the style of its worship music. Often people will emerge from a service saying, "The worship was wonderful today," or "The sermon was great, but I was really moved by the worship."

You may be surprised to realize that the entire service is about worshipping God!
Christian Worship - Showing reverence and gratitude to God
Another picture of Christian worship is showing reverence and gratitude by bowing down before God, as in this passage from Nehemiah:

"Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, 'Amen! Amen!' Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground." Nehemiah 8:6

Both singing and bowing down are acts of worship, but they are only part of the picture. Christian worship is so much more than that!
Christian Worship - It's all about the position of our hearts
Christian worship begins with discovering and admitting what we have been worshipping in our lives. All of us worship something, whether we know it or not. We may not physically bow down to it, or offer it songs of praise and adoration, but whatever we devote most of our time and attention to is often what we worship. Consider this Merriam-webster definition of worship: "Reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also: an act of expressing such reverence; a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem."

Seen in that light, it's easy to see that we can worship God, we can worship money, or power, or a rock star, or we can even worship a lifestyle. Worship is more than an act of reverence. It is an attitude of the heart.

Christian worship is clearly of interest to God. He knows we have an inner need to worship, so He asks us to worship Him. He, being God, can handle the weight of being worshipped; humans cannot. People who are worshipped by others can often be influenced to think more highly of themselves than they ought. The Bible makes it plain that there is only one God worthy of our worship:

"Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." Deuteronomy 6:13-14

Do you love God? Are you thankful for what He has done for you through His Son Jesus Christ?

"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." Psalm 29:2

You can follow the admonition of Psalm 29:2 by turning away from what you formerly worshipped and acknowledging the lordship of Jesus. Let the life you live be an act of worship to Him. Whether you are called to be a preacher, a singer, a writer, a software engineer, a salesperson, or a truck driver, you can do everything for the glory of God. When you do, you are engaging in Christian worship.

The Bible says that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). He alone is worthy of our worship and praise. One day, both those who choose to worship Him and those who have refused His free gift will acknowledge that He is Lord above all. When that day comes, only those who have chosen Him will go on to live with Him in eternity. According to Scripture, those who have denied Him will spend eternity with Satan and the fallen angels who are condemned already.

Love of God-God of Love

Love of God: Is the Creator a God of Love?
Is there such a thing as the "Love of God?" Is the Creator a God of love? Or is He an angry God? Is He passive and complacent? Or has He revealed His demeanor at all? Christians believe in a God of Love. They feel as though God has proved His love towards man through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered upon the cross as a propitiation for our sins. Truly, to die for another is proof of your love. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). However, does Christ represent God in His death upon the cross? Did Jesus even die upon a cross? Did He even exist as an historical figure at all? Or is He merely a myth -- a good story about a good man?
Love of God: His Love Revealed
Christians claim Jesus Christ reveals the Love of God. Did Christ even exist upon the earth? John Murray, president of the American Atheist Society is quoted as saying this about the historicity of Christ, "There was no such person in the history of the world as Jesus Christ. There was no historical, living, breathing, sentient being by that name. Ever. The Bible is a fictional, non-historical narrative. The myth is good for business." (Life Magazine, December 1994, "Who was He?" pgs. 67-82). However, millions of believers claim He did, and still does, exist. So, what did history actually record? According to the testimony of ancient historical authorities such as Cornelius Tacitus and Flavius Josephus it seems that perhaps Murray may be mistaken. Both men independently documented the crucifixion of a Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. These men, both living during the 1st century, are accepted historical authorities outside the Bible. In addition to their accounts and those of the New Testament writers, the Jews themselves have documented in their writings the execution of a Jesus in the 1st century as an historical event.
Love of God: His Love Foretold
The death of this man Jesus Christ does not demonstrate the Love of God, unless He was indeed the Son of God. If Christ were a mere man executed for crimes against the state, this has nothing at all to do with God. Once again, we must look towards historical accounts for validation. The Old Testament, written over a period of more than 1500 years, was finished approximately 400 years before Christ. The earliest known copies to survive the ravishment of time date to approximately 200 years before Christ (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Much of the Old Testament claims to foretell the coming of Christ. There are over 300 prophecies concerning a coming Messiah who would die for the redemption of mankind, proving God's love towards fallen man. Jesus Christ fulfilled these prophecies completely and consistently. In fact, Christ fulfilled over 30 prophecies alone on the day of His murder. These predictions were incredibly detailed and accurate, including the form of his execution and even His last words (Psalm 22).

For an example of this stunning foresight, the Book of Daniel (chapter 9, verse 25) foretells the very day Christ would enter Jerusalem before his trial and crucifixion. The prophecy states: 69 weeks of years (69 x 7 = 483 years) would pass from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, until the coming of the Messiah. (This is according to the Babylonian 360-day calendar, as Daniel was written in Babylon during the Jewish captivity.) Thus, 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days. According to records found by Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson in the Shushan (Susa) Palace, and confirmed in Nehemiah 2:1, this decree was made on March 14th, 445 BC, by Ataxerxes Longimanus. Exactly 173,880 days later, on April 6th, 32 AD, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem upon a colt (fulfilling Zechariah 9:9). The world celebrates this day as Palm Sunday. Four days later, Christ was murdered upon the cross, and three days after His death, He rose from the dead. After showing Himself to His disciples, admonishing them to persevere despite persecution from this wicked world, He ascended into Heaven to await the end of this age.

God Is Love

God is Love: How do we Define Love?
"God is Love", but how do we define it? The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as "an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties". Often this "intense affection" stems from a sexual attraction for that other person. We love other people, or we say we love other people, when we are attracted to them and when they make us feel good. Notice that a key phrase in the dictionary definition of love is the phrase "based on". This phrase implies that we love conditionally; in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we can love them. How many times have you heard or said, "I love you because you are cute;" or "I love you because you take good care of me;" or "I love you because you are fun to be with"?

Our love is not only conditional, it is also mercurial. We love based on feelings and emotions that can change from one moment to the next. The divorce rate is extremely high in today's society because husbands and wives supposedly stop loving one another-or they "fall out of love". They may go through a rough patch in their marriage, and they no longer "feel" love for their spouse, so they call it quits. Evidently, their marriage vow of "till death do us part" means they can part at the death of their love for their spouse rather than at their physical death.

Can anyone really comprehend "unconditional" love? It seems the love that parents have for their children is as close to unconditional love as we can get without the help of God's love in our lives. We continue to love our children through good times and bad, and we don't stop loving them if they don't meet the expectations we may have for them. We make a choice to love our children even when we consider them unlovable; our love doesn't stop when we don't "feel" love for them. This is similar to God's love for us, but as we shall see, God's love transcends the human definition of love to a point that is hard for us to comprehend.
God is Love: How does God Define Love?
The Bible tells us that "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). But how can we even begin to understand that truth? There are many passages in the Bible that give us God's definition of love. The most well known verse is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So one way God defines love is in the act of giving. However, what God gave (or should we say, "who" God gave) was not a mere gift-wrapped present; God sacrificed His only Son so that we, who put our faith in His Son, will not spend eternity separated from Him. This is an amazing love, because we are the ones who choose to be separated from God through our own sin, yet it's God who mends the separation through His intense personal sacrifice, and all we have to do is accept His gift.

Another great verse about God's love is found in Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In this verse and in John 3:16, we find no conditions placed on God's love for us. God doesn't say, "as soon as you clean up your act, I'll love you; " nor does He say, "I'll sacrifice my Son if you promise to love Me." In fact, in Romans 5:8, we find just the opposite. God wants us to know that His love is unconditional, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us while we were still unlovable sinners. We didn't have to get clean, and we didn't have to make any promises to God before we could experience His love. His love for us has always existed, and because of that, He did all the giving and sacrificing long before we were even aware that we needed His love.
God is Love: It's Unconditional
God is Love, and His love is very different from human love. God's love is unconditional, and it's not based on feelings or emotions. He doesn't love us because we're lovable or because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is love. He created us to have a loving relationship with Him, and He sacrificed His own Son (who also willingly died for us) to restore that relationship.

God Did It

God Did It -- An Argument from Ignorance or Evidence?
“But over centuries of research we have learned that the idea ‘God did it’ has never advanced our understanding of nature an iota, and that is why we abandoned it.” (Jerry Coyne)

In a recent essay in The New Republic, evolutionary scientist Jerry Coyne asked, “Does the empirical nature of science contradict the revelatory nature of faith? Are the gaps between them so great that the two institutions must be considered essentially antagonistic?” Coyne has no doubt that the answer is yes.

Religion is so hopelessly inimical to scientific progress that any attempt to reconcile them is futile. As Coyne explains, “Accepting both science and conventional faith leaves you with a double standard.” And to make sure you are clear on what religion is at issue, Coyne adds that “rational on the origin of blood clotting, irrational on the Resurrection; rational on dinosaurs, irrational on virgin births.”
God Did It – Science-Stopper?
Is the notion that “God Did It” even allowed in mainstream science? While hallowed bodies, like the National Academy of Sciences, claim publicly that faith and science do not conflict, privately, their “dirty little secret” is that religion is a science-stopper. Their public face, Coyne lets on, is all in the interest of maintaining public trust—one that is overwhelming religious and, professedly, Christian—and with it, public funding.

To the illuminati, a believer lumbers to the edge of every frontier of knowledge, poised to retire his investigations with “God did it!” contentment. Meanwhile, dead ends caused by their own faith in scientific materialism remain unexamined—the premature designation of “vestigial” organs and “junk” DNA being two examples.

Contrary to modern criticism, the scientist who approaches the world as a product of intelligence, rather than of matter and motion, is less likely to stop short of discovery. Instead of dismissing a feature that, at first glance, appears inert, unnecessary or just plain mystifying, he is more inclined the push the envelope of investigation to unravel its function and purpose.

Rather than obstructing science, Christianity, with its emphasis on a personal Creator, inspired an age of discovery that opened the way for science.
God Did It – Igniting Discovery
The ancients generally viewed the world as an unpredictable place governed by the fates or by the whims of the gods. But once investigators understood the universe as a creation—the work of a rational God embedded with rational principles—they dared to imagine that discovery was possible. One of the first was an astronomer whose theories ignited the scientific revolution.

Speculations about a sun-centered universe had been around for some time; but challenges to the Aristotelian model refined by Ptolemy didn’t gain serious attention until the “Copernican Turn” in the 16th century.

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Christian who understood the universe as an intelligible creation that operated according to mathematically coherent principles. His initial attraction to heliocentrism was not the result of new observational data, but of his notion that the sun—symbolic of God as Light and Lamp—seemed a fitful center of divine activity. He, along with other early researchers, believed that the elegant structure observed in creation should be describable in an elegant fashion. Thus, when heliocentrism proved more mathematically simple than the reigning earth-centered model, it gained a slow following.

Like Copernicus, Johannes Kepler was a man of faith who believed that the mysteries of nature could be unlocked with the key of mathematics. Kepler put it this way: “The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order and harmony which has been imposed on it by God and which He has revealed to us in the language of mathematics.”

Kepler’s belief in the mathematical precision of the universe led to his discovery of three fundamental laws of planetary motion—the foremost, that the planetary orbits are elliptical, rather than circular as modeled by Copernicus.

While the discovery of mathematical elegance was the product of faith for these pioneers, it has been the source of faith for others. In his book, Truth Decay, Douglas Groothuis shares the account of a Russian physicist: "I was in Siberia and met God there while working on my equations. I suddenly realized that the beauty of these equations had to have a purpose and design behind them, and I felt deep in my spirit that God was speaking to me through these equations." In that moment, the young scientist stepped over the chasm from atheism to theism and, ultimately, Christianity.
God Did It – On the Shoulders of Giants
Christians using science to show that “God Did It” remained in the vanguard of scientific discovery well into the 19th century. Groundbreaking advances in electro-magnetism, microbiology, medicine, genetics, chemistry, atomic theory, and agriculture were the works of men like John Dalton, Andre Ampere, Georg Ohm, Michael Faraday, Louis Pasteur, William Kelvin, Gregor Mendel, and George Washington Carver—all believers whose achievements were the outworking of their Christian faith.

Scientists in the truest sense of the word, these were investigators who doggedly followed the evidence wherever it led, approaching the gaps of understanding not with “God did it!” resignation, but with “God created it” expectation.

Whether they realize it or not, every scientist, including Jerry Coyne, stands on the shoulders of these giants. As German physicist Ernst Mach once acknowledged, “Every unbiased mind must admit that the age in which the chief development of the science of mechanics took place was an age of predominately theological cast.”

Does God Exist?

Does God Exist – A Scientific Inquiry
Does God Exist? The other day I was asked to prove the existence of God. It was a one-on-one conversation with a skeptical friend, who somehow thrust the burden of proof on me. He didn’t want the religious, moral or philosophical arguments -- He wanted the scientific “proof.”
Does God Exist – Is a Scientific Approach Possible?
When it comes to the question, “Does God Exist,” there are really only two possible conclusions: God either is, or He isn’t. There’s no half-way. There’s no sliding scale. Whether you’re an atheist or whether you’re a theist, there’s a certain level of knowledge, and there’s a certain level of faith.

I thought for a moment… Can I prove the existence of God -- scientifically? In my religious/moral/philosophical experience, He’s been proven to me. However, my friend hasn’t walked the same journey as me. He wants the facts -- he wants the naturalistic proof for a supernatural reality.

I came to the conclusion that my friend’s question was a fair one. He deserved my best attempt at an answer. So, I gave it a shot…
Does God Exist – A Scientific Examination of the Evidence
God may not be provable through mathematical formulae or properties of physics, but we live in an era where the evidence of an Intelligent Designer is all around us. Just look through the Hubble Telescope and peer to the edge of the massive cosmos. View the monitor of an electron-scanning microscope and delve into the intricate world of a microscopic cell. Try to comprehend the massive library of complex information inherent in the digital code that turns a fertilized egg into a human being. Study principles of quantum mechanics and investigate the world of extra-dimensionality. Review the nature of your conscience, subconscious, standards of morality, and thoughts of religion. Then, try to reconcile all of these realities with a basic theory of randomness and chaos.

Based on what we know today, I truly believe that atheism (not believing in any kind of god) is a much bigger "leap of faith" than theism (believing that some kind of god exists).

I asked my friend, “Have you really thought about some of the evidences for God? Or, are you presupposing a purely naturalistic world, and closing your eyes to some of the possible evidence? If I propose some observational evidence, are you even open to examining it?”

My friend asked me to go on. So, here’s my attempt at some basic scientific observations that point to God:

• Causation. God provides the best explanation for the existence of the universe and all that's in it. (The alternative theory is that "nothing" exploded and resulted in everything that we see.)
• Order. God provides the best explanation for abstract notions such as numbers, mathematical formulae, chemical-based processes, and natural laws. (The alternative theory is that the chaotic first elements ordered themselves into complex information systems.)
• Design. God provides the best explanation for the absolute complexity inherent in cosmological, stellar, planetary, chemical and biological systems. (The alternative theory is that random chance engineered apparent design.)
• Encoded Instructions. God provides the best explanation for the digital DNA code contained in and controlling the functions of all life on earth. (The alternative theory is that complex code, such as binary code running computers, can pop into existence without any kind of programming, testing and debugging process.)
• Irreducible Complexity. God provides the best explanation for fully functioning biological organisms, systems, and subsystems that couldn’t come about through gradual evolutionary process without totally ceasing to exist at lower, evolutionary levels. (The alternative theory is that biological systems took huge, unseen leaps from simple to complex without any guided process or forward-looking instructions.)
• Duality. God provides the best explanation for the separate human functions of brain and conscience (matter and mind). (The alternative theory is monism -- only matter exists and the human brain only appears to have a separate subconscious ability.)
• Morality. God provides the best explanation for the existence of love, emotion, altruism, and inherent moral/ethical values throughout the world. (The alternative theory is that unguided materialistic processes evolve higher human consciousness.)

Does God Exist – A Scientific Conclusion
When it comes to the question of “Does God Exist,” there are only two scientific worldviews -- Someone/Something did it, or it did itself. Whether it’s the beginning of the cosmos or the beginning of life, the beginning of mankind or the beginning of mind, either Someone/Something is responsible for everything we see or it’s responsible for itself.

“Does God Exist?” Is this really a question for science at all? Actually, it seems this is a matter of forensic science, since we can’t re-create the birth of the universe or the formation of first life in a laboratory. Therefore, we collect the observable evidence in our world and apply our forensic investigation skills to analyze its collective meaning. In the end, we all need to collect and examine the evidence for ourselves. Ultimately, whether couched as scientific inquiry or purely religious/moral/philosophical faith, it’s not a matter for the laboratory. It’s a personal, investigative decision for each and every one of us.