True Love

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. Interlude”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Israel's defense was the Lord! The only true defense for any nation is the Lord! When we forget God or reduce Him to some cultural conformity, we do this to our own destruction. All around us we are seeing this very thing take place. We have churches that have become culture appeasers, preachers that are people pleasers, and a society that is paying the price for our defection from the Word of God! We are more concerned about our tolerance than we are righteousness. We speak of the love of God as if it is something that accepts anything from anybody. Yes, God's love is everlasting, but we must also remember that His love is also Holy and pure. By nature, God is holy! Therefore, His commands are based upon His eternal, holy, and pure love. Pure love calls us from sin, not into sin. May I remind us today that God's Love cost Him His Son Jesus Christ! A price had to be paid for the awful, dark penalty of sin.  “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:16-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ God's love will still be true when He condemns the lost to eternal hell. Why? Because they have rejected the only way of salvation. To reject Jesus is to condemn oneself to a default destination of hell. God's love compels us to come out of sin into righteousness. God's love doesn't applaud sin, it despises it. When did we ever start believing that the gospel is about a pseudo, culture appeasing ideology? Whoever teaches this kind of love surely isn't rightfully dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)!  I love my wife! I love my children! I love my family! I love my church family! I love my enemies! Am I unloving if I despise drug addiction? Am I unloving if I despise unlawful conduct? Am I unloving if I despise adultery? Am I unloving if I despise promiscuous sexual behavior? Am I unloving if I despise deviant LGBTQ behavior? Am I unloving if I despise wickedness any kind? No! True love hates sin!! “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:6-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Let's  love what God loves and hate what God hates! When we do, we can then, and only then, claim the promise of His faithful defense. God will only defend what is righteous.