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How many of us hear the word love on a daily basis? Now there are a lot of different ways we use the word love. Someone might say “I love my parents. I love my brother or sister. Or I love my wife.” That’s one way we use the word love. Another way is someone might say “I love my car. I love my house. Or I love my clothes or makeup.” These are some of the ways we hear the word love being used on a daily basis.

However I have a thought or a question I’d like share for each and every one of us including me. How many times do we hear the sentence “I Love God!” or “I Love Jesus!” on a day to day basis?

Although there are many different ways we can discuss love, for our topic we’ll narrow it down to 2 types:
-Godly Love
-Worldly Love

First we’ll study Godly Love. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says on the topic in 1 John 2:15-17.

Let’s focus on the first verse, verse 15. 15: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

So here we read that we are not to love the world or the things in it. Does this mean that we can’t have any contact or have anything to do with the world that we live in? No, not at all. It means we are to hate the sin in this world, and the things that are created in this world because of sin. However, if we do love the world and love the sin of this world, then in turn we love the things that cause us to sin. Because of this, unfortunately the love of God our Father is not in us. If the love of the Father is not in us, then the end result is we are of this world and we are going to end up in the same place as the sinful world is headed to- and that is Hell!

So what is Godly Love? One of/if not the most famous verses in the Bible is John 3:16. Now that is Godly Love! That he sacrificed himself for you and me! What an amazing God we know!

How can we, here on earth, have and show Godly Love? First to have that Godly Love you must repent of your sinful ways and accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior! Surrender your life to Him, and live a life of sacrifice for Jesus.

Next we read Luke 13:3. When you truly and honestly repent with all your mind and with all your heart, you will not be able to help it but show Godly Love through faith and works! It will be the Holy Spirit working through you! Just as Alex mentioned in his sermon having that true and authentic Christian living!

Now let’s touch base on the other type of love- Worldly Love! Let’s read the next verse in 1 John 2:16.
I would like to split this verse in a few sections so we can dig a little deeper into the Word,
And get to know more of Worldly Love.

The desires of the flesh.
One list of a few things and I mean few that come to mind is sexual desires of the flesh!
This can be lusting or fantasizing for a girl or guy!
This can be masturbation!
This can be pornography!
This can be having sex before you’re married!
Romans 13:14 addresses these.

The desires of the eyes.
What about the celebrities that we see on TV? How many times do we see people trying to be like them? Once a person is engulfed in trying to look, act and have things like that celebrity that is following this sinful world, then that person can develop so many sins in themselves.
That’s why you see so many people having self-confidence issues, developing eating
disorders, they get addicted to plastic surgery, they spend all their time, money, energy and resources trying to be something or someone that they are not.

The only person we should be strive to be like is Jesus Christ, our Lord! In Leviticus 11:44 we are told to do so!

Pride in possessions.
Wow, this, I think, is especially geared towards us. How can we have pride in our possessions and what kind of possessions?

Some real-world examples:
-Your Car
-Your business.
-I have a nicer house.
-Your clothes
-Your finances
How many of us think these kinds of thoughts?

This has similarly been addressed in Daniel 4:37

The bottom line is we only have two choices; we either follow Jesus or we follow Satan.
There is no grey area with God!

To conclude, let’s read 1 John 2:17. This verse sums it up, if you want to live like this world does you will not, and I repeat, you will not, enter heaven. But if you live for Jesus, you will have the greatest gift of all, and that’s salvation and eternal life in heaven.

Article Editor: Yuriy Zaremba