Saturday, February 13, 2016

HE Was Our First Valentine

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

This blog is for all of us who need to be reminded of who our amazing and awesome God is. HE was our first Valentine! We love because He first loved us!

In the ministry that the Lord has given me I meet with many women who truly do not know who God is or the love He has for them. We THINK we do, but then our behavior reveals something else. If we really did know God, the God of all creation, who created the heavens and the earth, and His amazing love for us, we wouldn’t have the fear and anxiety that we have in our hearts and minds, and our lives would look very different.

God IS Love. Not the namby pamby love that we know and offer but the TRUE Love that IS God and that only God can give. This was a great exercise for me because it reminded me, yet again, of how amazing my God and Father in Heaven truly is.

Initially, for Valentine’s Day, I wanted to pull some scriptures from the Bible that spoke of God’s love for us but then I thought of listing some of the scriptures of who He is first, just as a reminder and a refresher, to give us a better context of WHO it is that is in LOVE with us! So I have started with just a few of the many scriptures describing our amazing God…the First and the Last, the Beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, the I AM, our creator, Father and Friend… and SO much more, THIS is the God who “First loved us”!:

“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:1-3

 “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11

 “Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.” Deuteronomy 7:21

“To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it…  For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:14-18

“Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty. The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.” Job 37:22-23

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” Psalms 8:1

“How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!” Psalms 47:2

“The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.” Psalms 29:3-4

“The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.” Psalms 93:1-2

“… O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.” Psalm 104:1-5

“Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever… The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.” Psalms 111:3-8

 “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.  The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” Psalms 145:13-19

“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.” 1 Chronicles 16:27

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?... I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please… What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. Isaiah 46:4-5 & 9-11

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8

“… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:6-7

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:13

“… I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22:16

Those were just a few of the scriptures describing God to us. Now here are some scriptures that talk about His love for US. I hope they bless you as much as they did me
:

“… "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”  Exodus 34:6-7

“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 commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.” 1 Kings 8:23

…"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands…” Nehemiah 1:5

“The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” Psalms 145:8-9

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” Joel 2:13

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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 8:38-39

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" – 1 Corinthians 2:9

 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

"I am accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10


Oh, Father, You are our first and greatest Valentine! Thank you for loving us first and showing us what real love looks like! You have poured out your life and love upon us generation after generation, drawing us back to you. I pray Father that you would open our hearts, ears and minds to be able to truly SEE you and KNOW you as you are and not as we have created you in our own minds. Replace the lies with the TRUTH and turn our hearts towards you and help us to be just as passionate about our relationship with you as you are with us! In Jesus name! Your loving Valentine, Linda :)

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