Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32

This is the huge deal: God has called us to the royal law of love (James 2:8). Bitterness and unresolved anger give the devil an opportunity to keep us from moving forward: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Thomas Jefferson wisely wrote: “When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” Though there will be times when we become frustrated, we don’t have to let ourselves become controlled by anger; instead, we can choose to walk in love.

If we aren’t walking in love we are missing it. “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4a). Let’s remember how patient and longsuffering God is toward us and increase in our capacity to endure.

pa•tience n. “The capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Love is the catalytic qualifier for breakthrough and blessing. When you crucify your flesh and show mercy, it defiantly deadbolts the door to the enemy and activates a heightened move of the Holy Spirit in your life.

God has called us to this revolutionary idea of love, and we aren’t to misspend in strife the energies that are reserved for mountain-moving. The devil is trying to take you out because he doesn’t want you to fulfill your call. So guard your heart from offense and don’t let strife stop the flow of your fruitfulness. There is breakthrough ahead; don’t back down from the love walk!

Choose Love,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Amplified Bible

Jesus answered, “The foremost [commandment] is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall 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, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

The primary thing. We are all looking for the thing that is primary—what matters most. Jesus lays it out: Love God and love your neighbor. God wants to steer us away from all the secondary issues so we can get back to the simplicity of loving and acknowledging Him. Then, He wants to extend His kingdom through each one of our lives to reach a hurting world.

A Christian should always remember that the value of his good works is not based on their number and excellence, but on the love of God which prompts him to do these things. ~ St. John of the Cross

Impact. Some of the most amazing impact we’ll have in society is going to come from an unassuming, genuine surrender of time and effort to just let people know we care. Then, instead of taking credit as do-gooders, we say, “Have I told you about my Jesus?”

The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5b

Love. God wants to translate our actions into a communication of His love. But the enemy of our lives is working hard to dull, distract, and numb us so that we live far below our privilege and potential. That’s why it’s essential for us to return to our first love—Jesus. Only then can we reach out with courage to strategically engage a detached and lost world. Love God. Love your neighbor. It’s the paradigm that could revolutionize this era.

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I am patient.

I am kind.

I am not jealous.

I don’t brag.

I am not arrogant.

I don’t act unbecomingly.

I don’t seek my own.

I am not provoked.

I don’t take into account a wrong suffered.

I don’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoice with the truth.

I bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

LOVE NEVER FAILS!

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church.

“And you shall 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, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

Because of the distractions of life, we must daily choose to make our relationship with God the central focus of our lives. Our love for self and neighbor will flow directly from our relationship with God.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Love is a verb—we are commanded to show love not only with our words but through our actions (1 John 3:18). People in need aren’t so concerned with what we believe, but they want to see if we care. Simple acts of kindness can provide a phenomenal platform for preaching the gospel.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. Philippians 1:9

Believe God for love to abound in the areas where it has grown cold. As you step out and obey God, there will be challenges along the way. But on the battlefield, love is lived out through faithfulness—choosing every day to get up, commit to your convictions, and not back off.

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

God’s love does not originate from our niceness—it’s been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit!

Our first increase of love needs to be toward God. We can start well in our love walk and then drift if we aren’t connected to the source. The believers in the Ephesian church, despite all their good works and perseverance, were held accountable by God because they left their first love (Revelation 2:4). If we’ve let our love grow cold, there is a way to get strengthened so that once again our love for God is central. “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first” (Revelation 2:5a).

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

The love walk is the most vital thing you can be doing right now. As you renew your dedication to grow in your relationship with God and walk in love toward others, a by-product will be a sharpened understanding of the next steps you should take in life. As you are seeking God first, the other concerns in life will start to work out according to God’s will (Matthew 6:33)!

Press on!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Do not give the devil an opportunity. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:27, 31-32

Love, conforming to the image of Christ and valuing people, produces an atmosphere charged with potential. If we let ourselves become bitter instead of living this Christian life to the fullest, we are of no good to those who desperately need help. Jesus, with ultimate love, came to bridge a fallen world to a holy God and to set captives free. But He didn’t stop there. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us so we can overcome every obstacle in our lives and help others break out of their bondage.

Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

There are seasons when God will move on a generation and give them an opportunity to turn to Him. I believe we are approaching such a season, and now is the time to deal with the weights and encumbrances that try to make us back off (Hebrews 12:1). As we humble ourselves and are quick to repent, we open the door to an increased flow of God’s love in and through our lives.

Keep your eye on the big picture of what this life is all about: As you believe for God’s perfect will to come to pass and stay ready to follow the Holy Spirit, you will see resistant hearts open up to the gospel and closed nations welcome Jesus’ perfect love.

Get Ready!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NASB

This is the huge deal: God has called us to the royal law of love (James 2:8). Bitterness and unresolved anger give the devil an opportunity to keep us from moving forward: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Thomas Jefferson wisely wrote: “When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” Though there will be times when we become frustrated, we don’t have to let ourselves become controlled by anger; instead, we can choose to walk in love.

If we aren’t walking in love we are missing it. “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4a). Let’s remember how patient and longsuffering God is toward us, and increase in our capacity to endure.

Love is the catalytic qualifier for breakthrough and blessing. When you crucify your flesh and show mercy, it defiantly deadbolts the door to the enemy and activates a heightened move of the Holy Spirit in your life.

pa•tience n. “The capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint.” Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

God has called us to this revolutionary idea of love, and we aren’t to misspend in strife the energies that are reserved for mountain-moving. The devil is trying to take you out because he doesn’t want you to fulfill your call. So guard your heart from offense and don’t let strife stop the flow of your fruitfulness. There is breakthrough ahead; don’t back down from the love walk!

Choose Love,

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other,
just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32

God has called us to follow Christ’s example: He showed His great love and died for us when we were still stuck in our sin. Consider the parable Jesus told of the king who forgave his servant an enormous debt, but then that servant still demanded payment of a small debt from another man. When we don’t forgive, we are forgetting about the huge debt of sin Jesus forgave (Matthew 18:21-35).

Choose to be governed by love instead of bitterness. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2). It’s easy to justify resentment, but it will hinder the quality and progress of your walk. Don’t wait around for someone else to do all the repenting—be quick to forgive.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

We can’t afford bitterness. This is a new season and the church is being called upon to reach a world that is shaking off complacency and asking to know God. Choose to unhitch your wagon from offenses one more time, and open your heart to God. When you get up in the morning, meditate on verses about walking in love. On the other side of this obedience you’ll experience advancement and greater effectiveness.

Love never fails!

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2008 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.