MIND OF CHRIST MINISTRIES, INC.
PASTOR THOMAS E. OGLESBY
P.O. BOX 85
NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY 07110
website: mindofchristministries.net
Phone: 973-818-2750
e-mail: mindofchrist@verizon.net
February 2024
“The Love of Jesus”
Dear Believer(s):
The people of the world long for love. They seek love in many ways. Many of them define love emotionally, physically, mentally, and materially. Some individuals will tell you that they love their jobs. Others will tell you that they love their cars, houses, and other material belongings.
We hear people say, “I love my supervisor, my doctor, my lawyer, my dentist, and I really love my pastor.” There are people who love their financial portfolio, which includes stocks, 401k’s, bitcoins, silver, gold, real estate, and other valuable assets. We have some people of the world and even Christians who just love money. They emphasize how much they love money. There are people who will do almost anything to obtain it. The Bible tells us in 1Timothy 6:10, (AMP) “For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.
Men will tell you how much they love their wives and children. Women will tell you that they really love their husbands and children. Children will tell you how much they love their parents and grandparents. We also know of instances where parents do not love their child or children. There are children who do not love their parents.
In America, we often talk about how we love sports and our particular sports teams. I love my football team. I love my basketball team. I love my baseball team. I love my volleyball or hockey team. When our particular team is winning, we love them. But when the team we care so much about starts losing, we don’t love them.
When it comes to loving food, we have so many choices and types to choose from. We have fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and of course desserts. What do we love to drink? Water, beverages (milk, tea, coffee, juices, lemonade, soft drinks, sports drinks, beer, wine, and alcohol).
We use the word love in so many different ways. We use the word “Love” in our speech. What does it really mean? We use the word love to describe our emotions, our feelings, and our tastes.
Let me talk to you about spiritual love. Spiritual love is not about lust or power; It’s about connection, respect, and a deep understanding of one another. It’s about seeing each other’s souls and honoring the Divine within each other.
Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Love for all people was at the very center of Jesus’s message.
Jesus tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) He also says, “A new commandment. I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also ought to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
God’s love is called agape. Agape, in the New Testament, The Fatherly Love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. In Scripture, the transcendent agape love is the highest form of love and is contrasted with eros, or erotic love, and philia, or brotherly love.
Let’s look at what is says in 1John 4:7-19 (CEV). “My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we have been given new life. We are now God’s children, and we know him. God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts. God has given us his Spirit. This is how we know we are one with him, just as he is one with us. God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. God stays one with everyone who openly says Jesus is the Son of God. This is how we stay one with God and are sure God loves us. God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won’t be worried about the day of judgment. A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows we have not really learned to love. We love because God loved us first.”
Finally, let’s look at what Paul says about love in 1Corinthians 13. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Let us pray. “Father God, teach us to have the love of Jesus. The world today needs spiritual love. Let the Spirit of Christ come forth in us so that we can love others. When we walk in faith and obedience to You God, this love can give peace and joy to the world. Thank You, Lord for your Love. We pray this prayer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!”
Your faithful and regular support allows me to continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your giving.
With Love and Thankfulness,
Thomas Oglesby
Pastor Thomas Oglesby
