How To Love God More

​Love you all, praying for you. 
 
I just love God’s Word.  It’s a love story.  His love for you that endures forever!  Hard to fathom and comprehend, but so true.    How do you grow your love for God?  How do you learn to love Him more?  First know this: He loved you first.  I John 4:10 - This is love: not that we loved God, but that He first loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.   What really is love for God?  Why do it?  Because He loved you first.  You can’t help loving someone who truly loves you unless you ignore them.  Most people ignore God, they don’t value His love for them, they don’t recognize it or appreciate Him for it.  They value themselves.  They are completely selfish.  God wants us to love Him, so He can increase our understanding of His love for us and others.  So how do you love God more?  What is love for God?  Affection and Obedience.  Not affection only – if you don’t obey him, you don’t love Him.  Jesus spoke that clearly, multiple times.  (See the Relationship Topic: Love is Obey).  If you love me, you will obey what I command, and this is my command, love one another).  But equally, love for God is not just obedience without affection.  Some people obey not because they love someone, they’re just afraid of the consequences.  How do you grow your affection for God?  Develop a heart of thanksgiving.  Gratitude will increase your affection.  Thanksgiving increases your awareness of who God is and the wonderful things He continually does on your behalf, demonstrating again and again His great love for you.  Some people, even though God loves them, they are outside of His commands – so they are outside of His covering and his favor.  The multiple demonstrations of God’s love for them are hindered by their proximity, they are out of position for his blessing to flow in their life, those demonstrations of His love that He longs to reveal to them.  But even if they are out of position, God still loves them and pursues them, and protects them from complete disaster, because He wants them to turn to Him and walk in close relationship with Him.   Some people don’t recognize God’s love for them, so they are unaware, self-focused, self-absorbed, not thankful or grateful.  When you recognize all of the things He has done for you – how can your love for him not grow, your affection and appreciation?  You are valuable to Him! So if love for God is more than just affection, He said, if you love me, you will obey my commands.  How do you grow your obedience?  Start small.  Get His plan for you today, and do it completely.  Share your testimony – you can, because every time you obey him, He does stuff.  You’re not fearing God for nothing, you’re not obeying for nothing, there are rewards that accompany obedience.  When you obey He does stuff.  He rewards obedience.  Every time you obey, you give God the opportunity to pour out His love for you in even greater measure.  It positions you for Him to bless you, so you can recognize, and thank him, so your affection and obedience grows.  So are you saying God just blesses you?  Yes.  Doesn’t mean there are no trials, but even in trials God’s blessing remains.  Paul and Silas even in chains – experienced the blessing of the LORD.  Sharing your testimony – enables you to recognize what He did, but you also overcome with it.  Overcome what?  Your adversary who wants to keep you from obeying so you miss out on God’s blessing.  Something else that grows your affection and obedience.  Get in His Word, His Presence, and Put on the garment of praise.  His Word helps you understand His great love for you.  His Presence in worship – changes you.  You cannot remain unchanged if you increase your time in His presence – every good thing flows from His presence.  And the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, opens you to the goodness, faithfulness, mercy, and favor of God.  It will increase your affection and obedience.  Praying that your love for God will grow.  So that every bit of His love for you will show.  So you can thank Him, praise Him, and love Him even more.  Loving God is the best investment ever.  It has eternal reward.
 
Love you all,
dad