OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

Stephenmoka4:
Nice, can one really love God. I mean not by saying it or doing things in the name of pleasing God, I mean genuine love like cravings, burning passions and desire. I don't know, like the love and desire for money is strong, but, I am really referring to a limitless love that is stronger than that of man to money.

Kobojunkie:

The love God asks from us is not the chemical kind of love that is burning passions and desires.

It is a love that is quite possible for you see, it is impossible to become a Born Again without this love. God asks that we love Him through our obedience, obeying Him in all things with all our heart, mind, body and soul. Of course such love is not always without doubt, that is why we trust, even when we do not understand and know the why of what we are doing.

Stephenmoka4:
I know this question is weird, (I am kind of a weird person too): How do one love God, sometimes I ask myself what kind of love do I have for God and I can't tell if it's love, since you mentioned it's not the physical type of love I.e chemical (passions and desire)

Kobojunkie:

I believe when it comes to God's kind of love, it is reasonable to think fear or reverance, rather than ooey-gooey love.

When I first approached the problem myself, I had some of the same questions. From reading through the book of Job, and the Pentateuch, I learnt that a sort of Master-Slave existed between man and God of the Bible. A slave's love for His Master is defined in terms of fear and reverence for said Master. That became my understanding of what it means to love God with all my heart, mind, body and soul.

A slave does not consider what other slaves or people think of his person/actions, as his one and only focus is pleasing his Master and only His Master in all-wise, And the vigor with which a slave pursues the service of his Master is the measure of the love the slave has for his Master. In this case, the Master has requested that He be served with all heart, mind, body, and soul.

Note: This exercise requires dying to self(EGO), and becoming like a child as far as your mental understanding of God and the processing of the things of God. Abandon all preconceived notions of who God is, and what He requires of your person.

Stephenmoka4:

Thanks a lot but, I still feel like a holy hypocrite sometimes. I have serve God in fear of going to hell, I have done good deeds to make God happy but, later I grew to like doing them.

Stephenmoka4:
I have mercy on people cuz I want God to have mercy on me, I don't know if I should call it selfish love or hypocritic love. I know I can't outsmart God and he is aware of my every move and the next one.

Stephenmoka4:

I praise him in good times (maybe my mood is right) and in bad times (just for the sake of praising, I don't want it to look like I am after the good times or like a spiritual gold digger).

Stephenmoka4:
Can you call this true love, sad God help me understand how to love him more.

Matthew 16 vs 24-25 (ERV)
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24. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25. For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, [b]but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Kobojunkie:
You do understand that God does not command that He be praised in the good and/or the bad times? Our praises ought to come because we want to give it, not because man told us it is what we ought to do.
Your old notions of what love means need to be dumped. That again is why Jesus said

All the old ideas about how God works, what love is, and so on and so forth need to be done away with.

Kobojunkie:
What does it mean to be a holy hypocrite?
If these "good deeds" are carried out in direct obedience to God's command and lead, I don't see what is hypocritical about it.
God is aware of our every thought, even before we think about it. Knowing this, if we are honest with Him about the reason why we serve Him, and what we hope to gain from doing so as He commands, why not? What is wrong with serving God because you want Him to continue to give you what He promised to give you?
I mean, look at the relationship here --- Master/slave. A slave serves his master so that the master may continue to be good to him. God Himself said if we obey Him, He will do for us all He promised... the relationship God established with us, in both the old and the new covenants, is that -an obedience-reward relationship. What is wrong with admitting that to yourself? Why not simply accept it for what it is?

Do a search for the word "Obey" in your bible, and you will see that from genesis to revelation, it is the key in this relationship we have with God. Obedience is the key (not prayer) to a good relationship with God and He promised to reward us every step of the way. Both covenants He made with us come with blessings and curses defined -- blessings for our obedience and curses for our disobedience. So, what is wrong with accepting that we serve Him so He can give us what He has promised us?

Kobojunkie:
You do understand that God does not command that He be praised in the good and/or the bad times? Our praises ought to come because we want to give it, not because man told us it is what we ought to do.

Your old notions of what love means need to be dumped. That again is why Jesus said

All the old ideas about how God works, what love is, and so on and so forth need to be done away with.

Stephenmoka4:
I know this question is weird, (I am kind of a weird person too): How do one love God, sometimes I ask myself what kind of love do I have for God and I can't tell if it's love, since you mentioned it's not the physical type of love I.e chemical (passions and desire)

Stephenmoka4:
Thanks again, I really want to feel this bond some Christians had talked to me about.

MuttleyLaff:




God is love. God is the epitome of love, the perfect example in all ramification of what is love. If you are really in the image of God and have become the likeness of God then you are expected to do display and demonstrate agape love. Agape love, for any not really familiar with that term, means unconditional love. It is love with no strings attached.

Stephenmoka4:
I usually expect the love man have for God should be a passionate and affectionate love.
The kind of questions I get made me think so;
Do you desire God
How much do you love God
Have you spend 5 minutes with God just for a day.

With questions like this I do expect the kind of love to be craving and desiring.

MuttleyLaff:
brother, don't complicate agape love. Don't unnecessarily make agape love complex, when it isn't at all anything like that. Agape love is simple, easy, kind, compassionate and just as I earlier have advanced is unconditional. Agape love is not subjected to conditions. God, the essence of agape love did not love you based on conditions. God gives agape love, exudes agape love, shows agape love, gives off and gives out agape love because it is God's nature to do so. It is God sharing Himself, giving part of what God is. Agape love is not something forced out, it is something coerced to do. It has to be natural. Agape love conquers all.

You spend 5 minutes, 5 hours or 5 seconds with anyone you love, desire, crave et cetera. It is not quantity of time spent we are talking about here but rather it is the quality, enthusiasm, eagerness and passion et cetera of the agape love.

Stephenmoka4:
Quite motivational, My own ideology is what it's complicating my spiritual life;
why would someone (God) love me, without me loving him back in similar way. I don't like the fact that someone love me and I'm not doing treating them right. I understand it's agape love. Why isn't that I'm not loving Him unconditionally.

Stephenmoka4:
It is better I am the one giving the agape love and God receiving, I feel like I have been cheating God all this while after I read that your post.

Stephenmoka4:
If you have felt the awful feeling of loving someone and them not loving you back, I wondered how God is surviving loving many people and some don't care about his existence and my own is even worse (I know He exists but, still hurt him).

MuttleyLaff:
Please don't be hard on yourself.

You're loving Him unconditionally to the best of your ability to do so and thats what really counts. It matters and means a lot to God

though I have bumped into you a few odd times on Nairaland, I wouldn't say, I know you from Adam, but you've come across as someone, like young David, whom about God said, He has found a man after His own Heart and/or even Lazarus, the disciple whom the Lord, Jesus Christ loved

"²⁰On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
²¹Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
²²Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
²³Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
²⁴Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me."
- John 14:20-24

As I have earlier advanced about God, that God is love. Now God has inexhaustible love ceaselessly flowing out. I'll tell you what really is awful. It is having love to give, have love shower with, but there's nobody to give or shower the love upon. It is why some people take to having dogs, cats et cetera, reasoning that if there is no one to love, they'll substitute them with animal pets

God is self sufficient. Our God doesn't need our love for His survival. He doesn't need our worship or our praising Him for His existence. Keeping every commandment that proceeded from Jesus Christ's mouth is how you love God (i.e. John 14:20-24)

Stephenmoka4:
Holy hypocrite - meaning loving God and doing his will because he asked me too (that doesn't define love very much for me)
I don't want to love God because,
1. He asked me to
2. He promised heaven
3. For benefits and blessings reward
4. That is the only way/path to LIFE
5. I am scared/frightened of hell (hell threat)

Stephenmoka4:
If you love me, keep my commandments (that scripture have a traumatic meaning, manipulative/guilt oriented meaning, I know it shouldn't be seen that way)
God loves us even if we don't love him back, I will like to love God; like really love God.

Kobojunkie:

God, Himself is Love. So every action of His is love in action
* when God made man, that was love
* when God chooses a bunch of murderers as priests to His people, Israel, that was love
* when God shielded Israel from their enemies, that was love...

God is love. So when you try to define love, you should consider the context in which it is being presented you

Kobojunkie:

* when God kicked the man out of Eden, that was love in action
* when God cursed Cain, that was an act of love
* when God destroyed the land using the flood, that was love in action
* when God destroyed the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, that was love
* when God walked Israel around the wilderness for 40 years, that was love
* when God caused the ground to open up to swallow about 14,000 people whole, that was love
* when God caused so many to choke on the meat he provided them to eat, that was love

Kobojunkie:

When Love tells you how it is to love Him, it is how He wants you to love Him-through obedience of His commandments. It really is that straight forward. He has about 46 of them(Jesus said my yoke is light) and He has a cross for you to bear (my burden is easy).
Do you really think that applying man's idea of love against God's own command for how to love Him will get you anywhere?

Stephenmoka4:
I agree to this one
With all honesty, this ones are terrifying.
. I don't think applying man's version of love will lead anywhere but, a man I am. I have tried to understand the nature of God and it got me stressed out and tired, so I slept off. I was actually expecting a love of passion and desire but, I learnt it's an agape love of which I'm not comfortable with.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.

OpenYourEyes1:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever"— John 14:15-16


If you truely love GOD you won't break HIS law.