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What It Means To Love

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Is love a feeling? Is love a sensation of butterflies? Is love "chemistry"?  For some, love is a deep affection for someone. For others, it is an interest or pleasure in something. Love is a decision one makes to give and sacrifice oneself for the benefit of someone or something else. First, let's explore the reasons why we should love. We must love because our Heavenly Father commands us to do so. Indeed, the greatest commandment God ever gave us is to love. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) In addition, the Word of God makes it clear that if we do not love, we lack value. The Christian life is centered around love and as children of the Most High, we must reflect and manifest love to each other, fraternal love, love of our neighbor. Our Christian faith should not be ab

The Gift of Friendship In Our Lives

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<<Two are better than one, because they have good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.>> Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Friendship is the state of mutual trust and support between two or more individuals. God calls us to love one another and He really encourages community. There are many characteristics to identify a God-sent friend, among which: Trust-A friend is someone that can be trusted, that lifts you up when you are down.They are here to sympathize with you, to comfort you. A friend "sticks closer than a brother."(Proverbs 18:24) I do not have a thousand friends. But I know my friends have my back. You need to select your friends carefully. Not because you have known someone for a long time or a particular person claims to be your friend, means that you have to be friends with that person. Spirituality-A good friend is equally yoked to you. You share th

Real Beauty

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                                     Beauty is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit, according to Merriam Webster. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And because Jesus is the way, the TRUTH and the life, beauty, real beauty, TRUE BEAUTY is what Jesus perceives as beautiful. Some people (believers or unbelievers) believe that Jesus perceived everything as beautiful and thus they feel confused or discouraged as to their own individual beauty. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says that <<Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be  THAT OF YOUR INNER SELF, the unfading beauty of a GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT  WHICH IS OF GREAT WORTH IN GOD'S SIGHT.>> 1. Beauty is a quiet and a gentle spirit Quiet: carried out discreetly, secretly or with moderation (based on Wikipedia); privat

The Plans of God In Our Lives

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<< This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." >> Jeremiah 29: 10-11 a) Sufferings precede blessings   For God's decrees to manifest, it is necessary to develop patience , endurance and maturity . Would a mother give a check of a hundred thousand dollars to her child? Absolutely not! The immature child would destroy the check or would fill himself up with all kinds of candies. His lack of knowledge would lead him to disqualify the value of this precious gift and wipe it out. To be made worthy of his mother's gift, the child must mature and develop his intellect and view of the world. Once his line of vision has been enlarged, and after being fashioned by the Potter through spir

God's Little Ones

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<< Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." >> (Matthew 19:14)       Children are defined, according to Thesaurus as  1) sons or daughters, babies or infants, people regarded as conditioned, or marked by given circumstances. 2) Immature people, or people who have little or no experience in particular areas.            Children, in the world, are considered as unimportant, uninfluential, weak entities, dependent individuals who have no power in themselves. The children in today's society are all people who are marginalized, rejected, misfits, deemed as unimportant, uninfluential, irrelevant, because of their seemingly small stature, their lack of social power or charisma, often judged in a materialistic way, and mostly based on social status, economic class, racial group, appearance, social heritage, culture, original ancestry, financial assets, job titles, etc... (You n

Do We Pretend or Do We Pray?

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<<The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.>> (Matthew 23: 2-3)         Do we pray for applause, do we praise for recognition?. Do we preach to get "uhm-uhms" or "yesses!" or "Amen!" or "Preach!" Do we preach or serve in our communities or "volunteer" for standing ovations? Do we publish Christian posts, blogs, YouTube videos, sermons, vlogs and so on to satisfy our fleshly desires? Are we seeking popularity? Do we wanna be on stage? Likes? Followers? "clap-claps"? Human praise?        In the book of John, Chapter 12, the leaders of the Jews acted with hypocrisy <<For they loved human praise more than praise from God.>> John 12:43. The bible warns us against hypocrisy that is prevalent in the Christian community, among both leaders and f

True Life is Found In Jesus Christ

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<<For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.>> Matthew 16:25         Life is the gift of being and existing, granted by the God the Universe. It can also be defined as vitality, vigor, presence or existence. When Jesus says in John 14:6 that He is <<the way and the truth and the life>>, He implies that in Him alone can our deepest longings be met. Our spiritual needs, our physical needs, emotional, mental, social desires and hopes can only be satisfied by our Lord Jesus-Christ. No food will ultimately make us happy. No friends will fill our love tank. Nobody, nothing can fill our cups and needs as Jesus. This life is temporary and for this reason must be lived in and for God alone! This life is a preparation stage to our calling to be holy.         If one lives only to store up riches, material things, to get likes and followers, to satisfy their worldly desires, and to fill their stomachs,