I recently heard one of our members say, “I know —- is —-, but I love —- anyway”. That’s great, and that’s what unconditional love is all about–loving one another in spite of their faults. That should characterize every Christian. Without such love there is no evidence that we are true believers. Without it relationships are ruined, families are fractured, friendships fail, and churches are crippled.

When love is lacking sin is flourishing, needs are growing, divisions are multiplying, people are suffering and joy is absent. Love is the power that draws us together and the glue that holds us together. It makes a household a home, a church a family, and all of society a better place to live. With love nearly all things are possible. Without it nothing works as it should. Until you love unconditionally you will never, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.(Matt. 5:44). That command is a tall order and nothing short of genuine love can suffice. With it we cannot fail. Without it we cannot succeed.

But where does such love come from? It comes from us first loving God– the first and great commandment. In loving Him above all else we are enabled to love others as we love ourselves. All this is made possible because God first loved us. Considering God’s great love for us, we never have a reason to not love Him or others. We might not like another person’s ways, but we ought to love them–faults and all. If we fail it is due to our relationship with God, not the shortcomings of others. Unconditional love depends on our character, not the other persons conduct.

But, as much as we need such love we cannot create it ourselves. Will power isn’t that powerful. To get love we have to go to the source, which is God. No amount of human effort is ever enough. If the benefits are big enough we might treat people as though we love them, but we don’t. We tolerate them and treat them kindly because it works to our advantage. The real test comes when there is an offense of some kind. Unconditional love doesn’t stop because someone fails. That doesn’t mean we pretend that nothing happened. It means we love them regardless of what happens.

It is unconditional love that impresses hearts, changes lives, builds relationships, keeps marriages together, and makes churches successful. Nothing else on earth is so powerful. Convincing others that we love them unconditionally can change them when nothing else can. Now if we could just see our need, rather than the other person’s need, and love people as Jesus did we could make a major difference in the world. Let us pray earnestly for God to fill us with such love.

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is , the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.“–Heb. 13:15
“ And said , Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave , and the LORD hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the LORD.–Job 1:21

It’s easy to praise the Lord when all is well with us, but when light turns to night, and blessings give way to burdens, and pain chases away pleasure it is another story. But is not God the same regardless? Should we praise Him in the sunshine and then ignore Him in the storm? Is He not good all the time? God never changes. Whether yesterday, today, or tomorrow He is the same. If we are to give Him the praise that is His due we must praise Him in our pain as well as in our pleasure. Whether we are prospering or in poverty God is to be praised. He is not worthy one moment and unworthy the next. Our praise is to be based on His character, not our circumstances. And since He is forever perfect our praise should be perpetual.

Because of this, you just have to wonder how pleased God is with our praise during the good times when we ignore Him during the bad times. Have you ever thought about how insulting it must be to God when we treat Him as though He is undeserving of our praise? Really! When we act like that we are indicating that it is all about self rather than God. The emotion such people feel when they receive some special blessing from God is the same as the elation they would have if they just won the lottery or inherited a fortune–it has nothing to do with God Himself. When they say “Praise the Lord” it is just religious jargon, not an acknowledgement of His goodness. The true test of how we feel about God is our attitude during afflictions. If we don’t praise Him then, are we really praising Him when we mention Him in connection with our blessings.

You cannot determine nor measure God’s love by considering your circumstances. He loves you whether you are grieving or glad. He loves you just as much when He takes away as He does when He gives. It is essential that we remember that. Living in the light of this fact will help you profit even during the most painful and perplexing periods of your life. God demands and deserves your praise regardless of what your situation might be. To withhold it is to misrepresent God, to indict Him of wrong-doing. So, every trial is a test and an opportunity regarding your attitude toward God. Have you lost something dear to your heart? Are you suffering from some affliction, seemingly without cause or cure? Are you misunderstood and mistreated by others for no reason? Regardless of what you are going through, you just make things worse when you fail to give God what He deserves. Let us then, “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually”—He is worthy!

Beloved friends, let us never look upon our own unbelief as an excusable infirmity, but let us always regard it as a sin, and as a great sin, too. Whatever excuse you may at any time make for others—and I pray you to make excuses for them whenever you can rightly do so—never make any for yourself. In that case, be swift to condemn.

It is a very easy thing for us to get into a desponding state of heart, and to mistrust the promises and faithfulness of God, and yet, all the while, to look upon ourselves as the subjects of a disease which we cannot help, and even to claim pity at the hands of our fellow-men, and to think that they should condole with us, and try to cheer us.

It will be far wiser for each one of us to feel, ‘This unbelief of mine is a great wrong in the sight of God. He has never given me any occasion for it, and I am doing him a cruel injustice by thus doubting him. I must not idly sit down, and say, This has come upon me like a fever, or a paralysis, which I cannot help; but I must rather say, This is a great sin, in which I must no longer indulge; but I must confess my unbelief, with shame and self-abasement, to think that there should be in me this evil heart of unbelief.’ –Charles Spurgeon

“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89)

This is the central verse in the longest chapter in the longest book in the Bible, and it is surely one of the greatest verses in the Bible. It conveys the amazing news that the Word of God (which is the theme of the entire 119th Psalm) has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist forever in the future. It was eternally settled in the mind of God before the world was created, then gradually inscripturated “at sundry times and in divers manners [as God] spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1).

Other verses in this psalm likewise stress the eternal validity of God’s words: “The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting. . . . Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. . . . Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:144, 152, 160).

In the book of Isaiah appears a magnificent claim: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). This contrast is expanded by the apostle Peter: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).

To guarantee this great truth beyond any further question, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself made the following tremendous claim: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).

The entire physical universe is (literally) “passing away,” heading inexorably downhill toward ultimate death—with one exception! The words of our Bible and its glorious promises are eternal and immutable. Henry M. Morris

“ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth , give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid .”–John 14:27

I read the story of two artist who set out to each paint a picture of peace. One man painted the picture of a placid lake, tucked among the hills where the stormy winds couldn’t disturb it. A touching scene that warms the heart.

The other painted a stormy sea with raging waves, and wrecks scattered along the shore. Rising up out of the sea was a tiny rocky island, and high upon the cliff there  was a small cleft in the rock where a dove was sitting calmly on the nest she had made. Observers all agree that this latter picture was a better depiction of peace. It was the work of a thoughtful and wise artist.

However, as great as that picture was, it isn’t the best picture of peace. The best picture is that of Christ Himself. From the time He was born, even before, He knew exactly what would happen. From the cradle to the grave, He lived in the shadow of the cross. He was hated and despised by sinful men, yet He never worried, wavered, or wandered off the course appointed Him. He set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem and, with total devotion, He pressed on. And never, not even one time, do we ever hear a word of consternation, care, or complaint. He possessed a deep settled peace beyond anything the world had ever witnessed. He was the perfect picture of peace.

It was in the light of His glorious example that He promised, “–my peace I give unto you”(John 14:27). Amazing indeed! He who is the perfect picture of peace promised to provide His peace to His people. As someone said: “No Christ, no peace; Know Christ, know peace”. So how is it with you dear friend? In Christ, who is our peace, we can have “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” and it “shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). In Him, that peace which is pictured perfectly becomes your permanent possession.