perfect love

Are you prepared to die? We tend to avoid thoughts of death, especially our own. In this message, Pastor Cynthia shares how thinking about death can lead to life.

Thinking About Death

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” – NLT

Tips for Dying Well - Not a bucket list, a way of life.

1. Be an Apprentice of Jesus

Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” – Luke 9:23 NLT

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 1 John 2:28 NLT

1. Maintain a Clear conscience: Repent, Forgive, Live in Peace

a.     Repent 

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  Acts 3:19 NASB

Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

b.     Forgive 

Mark 11:25 NIV

“Father, forgive them” – On the cross, Jesus released and forgave others.

c.      Live in Peace

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:18 ESV

3.     Resist Fear/Walk in love  1 John 4:16-21

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:18-19 ESV

Psalm 23:4 

God’s love drives fear from our lives. God is love. In His presence we know love.

When you are in that position of accepting His great love, fear loses its power over you. 

1. Prepare Others

Jesus prepared his followers for his death.

Jesus told his followers: “I am going to Him who sent me… and you will see me no longer… you will weep and lament… you have sorrow now, but I will see you again.” – John 16:5,16,20,23 ESV

We have the responsibility as apprentices of Jesus to help others in our family and in our community be prepared to die.

1. Anticipate going home.

Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:8 NLT

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” – Philippians 1:21 NLT

People should die anticipating entering the presence of their loving Father.    

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints Psalm 116:15 

`Into your hands I commit my spirit.' Jesus quotes Old Testament scripture, but he makes it personal and intimate by using the word “Father”. Even on a cross, Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his love." 

Question: Are you prepared to die? Are you ready?

Insecure, afraid of people's opinion, trying to please, craving for attention? It will take a love out of this world to finally free you. Inspired by the truths revealed in the Bible, this is God's words to you from His heart, a special broadcast from Heaven. This is what you've been looking for all your life. Feel the rush of perfect love.

Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T005A0_Uv2Q

Outline:

Exodus

The Steward and The Brothers

The Divining Cup

Like Father, Like Sons

Judah: The Advocate and Sacrifice 

Charge

Saint Athanasius Church

Contra Mundum Swagger

Video Version

Do you feel you are alone? Do you wonder who cares and if there is more to life? You tried many things but still feel a vacuum in your heart?

Hanaya felt the same. But it all changed. She reflects on when God stepped into her life.

Hanaya Oki Series:  https://superdifferent.com/hanaya

Saint Athanasius Church

Contra Mundum Swagger

Video Version

Human love is a complex thing. It's flawed and imperfect and can often be conditional and damaging to us. But God's love for us is different; it's perfect, absolute, and ever-unconditional. Through Christ, his Son, we have been redeemed and all our sins forgiven when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Abiding in the confidence that comes from God's love[1] removes all doubts and fear. It's the only transforming love that will never diminish or come to an end.

In this episode of the Revelations Podcast, Delaney Dobbs and Beverly Coniaris of She is Becoming Podcast joins us to speak about God’s love. They talk about our role as Christians in speaking His truth and embodying and bringing His love to others. They also differentiate between worldly love and God’s love and affirms the power of having confidence in God’s love.

Tune in now to learn more about what the Scriptures say regarding love. Listen to this episode just for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Understand what 1 John 4:7-19 means.
2. Learn why you should be confident in God’s love.
3. Be inspired to love others as God loves us.

Resources

• More from the Revelations Podcast: Website | Instagram | Apple Podcast
• Connect with Delaney and Beverly: She is Becoming
• She is Becoming episode with Reagan Kramer [02:12]
• S1 | Ep.4 // Children of God (ft. Bev Coniaris)
• Bible Verses:
• 1 John 4:7-19
• John 3:16
• 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
• Revelation
• 1 Corinthians 13
• John 15:9-12
• Ephesians 2:4-5
• Proverbs 10:12

This Episode is brought to you by: Advanced Medicine Alternatives

https://www.georgekramermd.com/

Episode Highlights

[02:28] She is Becoming Podcast

• Delaney and Beverly started the podcast because they wanted a multigenerational perspective on different topics in the Bible.
• They talk about anything and everything related to the Bible.
• Having a multigenerational perspective is unifying. It's important for the Church and culture.
• Women want to hear from women of all ages. The older and younger generation have a lot to learn from each other.

[05:26] How to Love an Angry Culture

• You will feel the angst and anger of people by simply living in the culture.
• In the episode with Reagan, they talked about how to love with healthy boundaries from Scripture while sharing the gospel and reflecting God.
• The country has never been so divided. It’s the role of God’s people to have a different voice and bring people together amidst this.
• It’s our job in the Church to love and to be sure of God’s love.

[07:33] What Stands Out about Love in 1 John 4:7-19 for Delaney

• 1 John 4 was written to a group of churches believing a Gnostic gospel. 
• The false gospel says that the body and mind are separate and evil, and any emotions that have to do with love and joy must be suppressed.
• The evidence of a Christian that has been changed by Christ is to love and love well.
• In the passage, John is encouraging Christians on how to love fellow believers and how to be confident in God's love. He also advocates for Christ's divinity and humanity.
• 1 John 4 says that the love of God was made manifest in us. It’s rich in doctrine and theology and is practical at the same time.

[09:34] What Stands Out about Love in John 7:19 for Bev

• John used love as a test of faith and eternal life.

Beverly [10:03]: “One of the fruit[s] of the Spirit, if we have the Spirit of God living in us through faith, is love. So if love is not there, the Spirit may not be there, and we may not be God's child.”

• John is writing to believers; fellow Christians were to love one another.
• The emphasis is for our love to be a witness of the world. If that disintegrates in the Church, there’s no hope for the world.
• The people of the Church are the ones who have to bring God’s love to others.

[11:17] On Not Feeling Loved

• Feelings trump faith and truth. That’s our culture.
• Feelings come and go; they’re unreliable. We can experience an up and down in feeling God’s love, similar to our relationships.
• In this situation, we must first recognize why we doubt God's love. 
• Guilt is a big reason why we feel the need to turn away from God. Other causes are disobedience, other people not loving us, and not knowing the Scriptures.
• What you have to do when you’re doubting is to return to the truth that God loves you and believe it.

[15:33] Love is from God

• God is the originator of love. We don’t come to God and start loving Him; He starts by loving us.
• The idea that God has initiated His love for you is a foundational truth you can return to when you don’t feel loved.
• God’s love is different from human love. His love is agape love or meeting the needs and caring for the receiver of His love.
• God’s love is sacrificial on behalf of the beloved. The cross is God’s demonstration of His love.
• Similarly, loving one another is setting aside our own selfish needs on behalf of others.

[18:46] How God's Love Makes a Difference in Our Everyday Life

• His love enables our love. You can see the impact of God’s love with how you love those who are hard to love, even from afar.
• Love is not a feeling; it’s a choice and a commitment. It also manifests in discipline and telling truths and consequences, not just affection.

Delaney [24:13]: “You can't experience God's love and not love other people.”

• Just smile at people. It’s a small thing, but it’s an act of love.
• God's love gives us the confidence to love ourselves and other people and speak the truth.
• Tune in to the full episode to hear more examples of how love makes a difference in our everyday life!

[32:50] Being Confident in God’s Love

• Being confident in God’s love means that you don’t have to do things to earn it.
• We can express our love back to Him by obeying Him, living in truth, and living as he loves us.
• There's nothing we could ever do that would cause God to stop loving us. 
• The way he shows us love is never skewed and is always perfect.
• We try to find the love God gives in all the wrong places. But the only way we will meet that need for love is in Him.

[36:18] What the World says Love is

• One thing is that love is love and whatever you want it to be. The root of it is nobody in culture knows how to define love.
• Desensitization to intimacy has impacted our view of love.
• We’ve taken a picture of how God is supposed to love and devalued it.
• Thinking that love is a way to rationalize sin and put it on a pedestal. But if you don’t have a relationship with the Lord, you are not equipped to love.
• The world’s love is all self-love and is the opposite of God’s love. God affirms that we are to love ourselves, but it can’t be void of Him.

[41:45] Justification for Sin

• Suppressing all feelings, such as the premise of the church John was writing to, is also unhealthy.
• The idea that people could do whatever they want with their bodies because it's not associated with the spirit life is a justification for sin.

[44:07] Hurting and Loving Each Other as Christians

• John 7:19 speaks about loving each other as Christians.
• It’s easy to want to fight back when you get hurt by other Christians. It’s not always the right thing to do.
• Speaking an honest word can be loving, but it’s hard. You don’t do anybody a favor by saying nothing when you see something.
• The huge reason culture is angry is because they don’t have confidence in God’s love.
• Having a good theology of God’s love on top of living it out can help us live confidently in His love.

[48:07] Combating Guilt and Shame

• Speaking truth to ourselves in love is how we combat guilt and shame.
• Believe His word and forgiveness as true. Only then can you move on.
• We like to punish ourselves. If we don’t allow Christ to do it, we will do it on ourselves.
• Perfect love drives out fear.

[49:49] Perfect Love Drives out Fear

• Confidence is the opposite of fear. Being confident in God’s love is one of the ways you combat fear. 
• It’s God’s love that’s perfect, not our love. But because of that, we don’t have to fear.
• Having fear is fearing losing God’s love. But we don’t have to because we’re secure with His love.
• Jesus is our Savior. God is our Father.

Bev [53:31]: “He is your father. It's not just a picture. It's truth, and that's why we all have the same Father, that's why we're sisters in Christ. So that's why you get the new family. You have that security that this Father's love is perfect love, and then it will drive out the fear of not being loved.”

• We have to rely on the love God has for us.

[55:11] On Propitiation

• We can’t love people for doing what we need. The only transforming love is Christ.
• However, people can reflect God's love for you, and you can experience His love through them.
• Propitiation is a doctrine. It means that justice is needed and has been met.
• Christ has taken all of God’s disapproval and anger towards our sins as born sinners. Our sins have been propitiated through Christ, and God’s wrath is over.
• When you begin to understand that God’s not angry with you, then you can start to accept his love.

[58:36] How Delaney & Bev Have Come to Treasure God’s Love

• Ours is not the beginning or definition of love. 
• The love of Christ is something outside of us; it’s something not defined by us and is always. It’s how Delaney treasures God’s love.
• God’s love helps Bev get out of bed in the morning and go to sleep at night.
• Life is hard sometimes. God’s love gives her peace and a secure place to rest.
• What God’s love meant for Bev personally is mending her relationship with her parents and letting God love through her.

[1:01:30] Love Covers a Multitude of Sin

• Love covers all wrongs. Christ’s love covered the world’s multitude of sins in history.
• Christ's love gives us more grace and the ability to be more compassionate toward people who are hard to love.
• Loving someone can help bring people out of their sins. Proverbs 10:12 tells us to be that example and not to be overly critical.
• The simple act of sharing the gospel is love covering a multitude of sins.

About Delaney & Beverly

Delaney Dobbs and Beverly Coniaris are the co-hosts of the She is Becoming Podcast. They are a multi-generational duo who enjoy lively discussions with each other and the guests they interview. In each episode of She is Becoming, they study the Bible and flesh out relevant topics.

Get to know more about Delaney and Bev by tuning in to the She is Becoming Podcast.

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kw: God's love

meta: Delaney Dobbs and Beverly Coniaris of She is Becoming joins us to speak about God’s love. They talk about our role as Christians in speaking His truth and embodying and bringing His love to others. Tune in now to learn more about what the Scriptures say regarding love. Listen to this episode just for you!

What keeps you moving when the going gets tough?

(June 11, 2022) Father Samuel Dubois, Parochial Vicar at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, reminds us on the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity that we are not called to live alone in isolation, but rather to be united in the selfless, sacrificial, and eternal bond of love of the Most Holy Trinity, which is given to us as a gift and a source of strength.

On this episode of The Recovery Lifestyle Podcast, Pastor Pat from Hope Crossing Community Church joins the podcast to talk about his new project for developing Relational Discipleship and the topic arrives at LOVE where John, Chris and Pat discuss how God first loved us. Follow Pastor Pat on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/HopeCrossingCC/

God created Adam and Eve, not only as the First Humans, but as the First Human Relationship.  Join the women at the well as they discuss this relationship, revealed to us from the book of Genesis, and how it can help us to reflect on the relationships in our own lives.

The Bible's remedy for anxiety is not, to tame it, reduce it, or learn to live with it, but rather to obliterate it so that it's non existent.  This episode has got the secret remedy!

Many people in Wesleyan-holiness denominations have been looking for a clear, theologically focused book on holiness. Kevin Watson’s new book Perfect Love scratches that itch. I LOVED THIS CONVERSATION with Kevin and I think you will too. 

You can find a link to Kevin's new book here. 

I had the privilege of writing an endorsement for this book, here’s what I said: 

With passion, clarity, and focus Kevin Watson yearns for the broad Methodist movement to experience, preach, and claim an infusion of perfect love—holiness. Watson’s scholarly grounding and pastoral focus remind me of salvationist Samuel L. Brengle. I will be recommending Perfect Love for the rest of my life. 

—Captain Dr. Andy Miller III, Area Commander and Pastor The Salvation Army, Tampa, Florida 

Also, I helped Seedbed connect with THE GENERAL of The Salvation Army and here’s what he said. 

Phrases like entire sanctification, full salvation, holiness, and second blessing of holiness reminds me of a personal call to which I respond in the affirmative. I applaud a clear call to awaken ourselves to the blessing and gift of entire sanctification and I celebrate not simply a link to a tradition of teaching but a real experience that does translate into hope and healing . . . from the uttermost to the uttermost. 

—General Brian Peddle The Salvation Army International, London, England, UK 

Do you know you can still access all of my past interviews with people like Tim Tennent, Horst Schulze, General Peddle, Tony Dungy, Israel Gaither, and more than 50 others? Check that out here. 

Our thanks to WPO Development for stepping up as our first sponsor of the More to the Story Podcast. https://www.wpodevelopment.com

Here’s a link to Kevin Watson’s other books: 

The Band Meeting

The Class Meeting

Old School or New School Methodism?