A CELEBRATION OF LOVE

If God sent us a Valentine...

I wonder what it would look like. I know it would be more beautiful than any card we have ever seen and all the colors would vibrate with life.

Would it be a picture of angels with their tremendous words,

Would it be a picture of Jesus on the cross literally giving His life for mankind with a beautiful rendition of the words,

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD...

Or, would it be the words,

HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, BECAUSE THE LOVE

God's love is all around us, and we see it in the beauty He has created - in the trees and majestic mountains - in the flowing streams and rivers and ocean waves - in the beautiful flowers and birds that God created for our enjoyment.

Every year during the month of February, we have set aside a day when we join the world in celebrating and expressing our love for the special people in our lives. We express our love in many different ways - by words, cards, flowers, special meals or gifts. There are so many ways!

But as meaningful as human love can be, God has given us a love that far exceeds anything that this world has ever experienced. The apostle Paul experienced such love. Even when he was persecuting those who believed in Jesus, God reached out to him in a blinding light. Is it any wonder that he penned the words,

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God
has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us (Romans 5:5).

And as the Holy Spirit flows out of our lives, love leads the list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. God manifests Himself in our hearts and through our actions of love. We are God's valentine to those around us. Many do not live in places of beauty, but rather amidst the ravages of a sinful world. Many eyes have been blinded to God's great love. We have been sent to reveal, again, God's great love to mankind.

Love is the greatest force in the world. The enemy has no love. Religion, void of the Person of Jesus as He is glorified by the Holy Spirit, has no real love.  The enemy has no defense against the love that can only be manifested by the outworking of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

A New Covenant

Under the Old Covenant, God gave ten commandments to demonstrate through man's inability to keep them, our need for a "Substitute Redeemer." Jesus was the only One who could fulfill these commandments. All of these commandments, requirements and sacrifices pointed forward to Him.

How wonderful it is that Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant. Just before His betrayal, arrest and crucifixion, He joined His disciples in celebrating the Passover. It was the very feast which for so long had pointed forward to
Jesus becoming the "Passover Lamb" that would take away the sins of the world.

This was the greatest manifestation of God's love.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

By God's great love, He had fulfilled the law with its Old Covenant and all of its commands. Now, Jesus was giving to His disciples, and to us," a new and better Covenant,"

A New Commandment

With the New Covenant, Jesus gave us a new commandment. This commandment transcends all the ten commandments.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another"(John 13:34).

God's overwhelming love is to be manifested on earth today by the love that we as believers have and express for one another. The world will notice and desire to experience this irresistible love they see poured out through us by the Holy Spirit.

His Love to All

God's supernatural love "that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" is a love that is not only manifested toward our fellow believers but it extends to every person in our world.

As we begin to understand God's tremendous, all encompassing love for all mankind we understand His next commandment.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things
that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).

The "Go" of Love

Joyce and I feel compelled by God's love to keep going to the nations. Our hearts are still overwhelmed with all the manifestations of His love we experienced during our recent trip to Costa Rica and Cuba. By your partnership, we are going this month as your missionaries bearing God's love to the precious people of Puerto Rico.

This ministry has taken us to over eighty nations. We have already scheduled meetings later this year in the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Ireland and Mexico. We are also praying about another trip into China.  Invitations continue to come from many nations, but these trips, together with our literature, internet and media outreaches, require increased financial resources.

The "Giving" of Love

Joyce and I are compelled by His love to become extravagant givers to reach the lost in the nations of the world with the good news of God's great love. As we have kept going following His leading, we have for the past couple of years spent thousands of dollars more than has come in through our faithful partners. This has resulted in a depletion of our financial resources and we need your help as never before.

We ask that you prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you to do this month to help us as an expression of God's love that has been poured out into your heart by the Holy Spirit to a lost and dying world.

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Your missionaries to the world,