I love how God speaks! Making the connection from loving others like myself to loving others like Christ requires a middle phase. This phase or “Stage 2 of Love” is a journey to understanding how to love your “enemy” like God loves His. It looks like compassion, mercy, and grace. It looks like not insisting on our own way. And this can only happen in a relationship where there is authentic communication. (Scriptures I referenced: Luke 10:25-37, Psalm 106:44, Joel 2:18, 2 Kings 13:23, and 1 Corinthians 13:5)♥️

In today’s episode, journey with me as we look the 5 Love Languages and discuss how to love God and others through them. We will hit on three stages of love based on the Loving Others episodes and walk through practical ways of actually being loving.

We have been taught by God to love one another by the many examples He’s proved His love for us. That is how Jesus can say “love like I have loved you”. It’s more than loving others like we would love ourselves. We’re going to need the Holy Spirit’s help for this one. (Scriptures I referenced: John 13:14, 35, 1 John 4-11-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 John 3:23, Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 1:23, John 15:13)♥️.

Jesus said “You’ve heard it said love your neighbors and hate your enemies”... but I say “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”. And then He compares it to being merciful and perfect like God the Father. How does that compare at all? Well... God the Father knows something about loving His enemies. He sent His Son to die so His enemies could become His children. What a love ♥️ (Scriptures I referenced: Matthew 5:13-18, Luke 6:27-26, and Romans 5:8-which I didn’t actually mention but quoted).

In today’s episode, we discuss who our neighbor is and what it looks like to love like ourselves. Spend time today thinking about how you love yourself. Not to focus on you, but to have descriptive ways to now love your neighbor. It all comes back to the Golden Rule: do unto others as you wish they’d do unto you. (Scriptures I referenced: Leviticus 19:17-18, 34, Romans 13:10, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 6:31) ♥️

At the core of each human being is the desire to elevate and fight for oneself, yet love needs a heart that says “i’ll lay myself down”. As we continue to look at Jesus as our perfect example, we’ve got to ask ourselves if we will lay our lives down to love? (Scriptures I referenced: Matthew 22,5, and John 13, John 15:13, Genesis 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, John 17, Matthew 23:12) ♥️

Our ability to actually love and obey God only comes when we have a new heart of flesh given by the Holy Spirit. That heart can finally say “I just want to love you”. (Scriptures I referenced: John 14:15, 1 Samuel 15:22, Galatians 1:10, Matthew 15:3 and 7:21-24, Isaiah 29:13, 1 Samuel 16:7, Romans 2:25-29, and Ezekiel 11:19-20). ♥️

If loving God with all our heart looks like putting our affections towards Him and loving God with all our life looks like putting our eternal life in His hands...what does it mean to love the Lord with all our strength or might? Maybe it’s about His strength and might. (Here are the scriptures I referenced: 2 Peter 1:5, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 12:2, Psalm 105:4, Matthew 11:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Isaiah 40:29-31, Philippians 4:13 and 2:13, Colossians 1:11, Ephesians 3:16, Hebrews 13:9, 2 Timothy 4:17). ♥️

So I just had to share about my date last night! My husband and I got to go see Bethel at a worship event. We’re still processing all God did and said, but here are a few things I felt like you needed to know! (Next week, we should be back with our Loving God series).

Though our lives may flow from our hearts, our souls can be lost and even killed. So how can our souls live... rather how can we keep our souls? There are many paradoxes we find when we seek to follow Jesus... this is no different. To save our souls, we must lose our lives. {Here are the scriptures I reference: Psalm 107:5 and 9, Jeremiah 31:25, Psalm 63:8, Psalm 119:167, Matthew 10:28 and Matthew 16:26 (see whole chapter), Luke 12:19 (see whole parable)}. ♥️