Love the Lord

James 4:7-8 New International Version (NIV)

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Matthew 22:37 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Exodus 34:6

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, Numbers 14:18 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ ¨Deuteronomy 7:8-9 New International Version (NIV) ¨8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. ¨Deuteronomy 7:12 ¨12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. ¨Deuteronomy 10:12 ¨Fear the Lord ¨12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, Deuteronomy 10:15 ¨15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved t hem, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. ¨Deuteronomy 11:22 ¨22 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him— ¨Deuteronomy 30:6 ¨6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. ¨Deuteronomy 30:20 ¨20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.¨Romans 1:7 New International Version (NIV) ¨7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: ¨Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ¨Romans 8:39 ¨39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¨Romans 15:30 ¨30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. ¨2 Corinthians 13:14 ¨14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. ¨Ephesians 6:23 ¨23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ¨1 Timothy 1:14 ¨14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¨Jude 21 ¨21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. ¨Proverbs 3:6 ¨6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.¨Leviticus 22:32 New International Version (NIV) ¨32 Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy ¨Deuteronomy 4:39 ¨39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. ¨Psalm 32:5 ¨5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. ¨Psalm 91:14 ¨14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. ¨Philippians 2:11 ¨11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¨ ¨

God’s Possession

¨Colossians 1:9-14 New International Version (NIV)

¨9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¨Genesis 1:27

¨27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

¨Ephesians 5:31-33

¨31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

1 John 4:7 God’s Love and Ours

¨7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

¨1 John 4:11-18 New International Version (NIV)

¨11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¨13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

¨God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¨Romans 12:9-21

¨Love in Action

¨9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¨14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position . Do not be conceited.

¨17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

¨“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.