Text Box: February is the month most associated with ‘love’ as it is the month of St. Valentine’s Day. Love is what we Christians should be good at. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35) I wish I could say that Bible believing followers of Jesus are best known for their love. I suspect that many of our neighbors have not associated the above words of Jesus with the Christians they know. On the negative side of the story, in our nation’s cultural divide over sexual issues (like gay marriage, abortion or sex education) people of faith are usually portrayed as narrow minded and unloving. Some voices for traditional morality may lack wisdom as they feed into a reporter’s stereotype. It should also be noted that telling the truth is an act of love. Our message should be clear that God loves the sinner, hates the sin, and offers redemption. As children of God, we follow His example, loving people, while speaking truth. Easier said than practiced. The public expression of Christian love is not all bad news. There has been considerable love and compassion shown by the church towards the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The personal stories reported in local papers tend to focus on Haitians with ties to the tragedy and groups who raise money or go to lend help. Many of these accounts are about people of faith. Some North Jersey believers were on a mission trip to Haiti when the earthquake hit, while other church groups from our area have traveled to Haiti since the earthquake. Paul writes about our call to love others in Romans 12:9-13, Love must be sincere. Hate what Text Box: is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Note that to ‘hate what is evil’ is a part of love. A person who loves well is more than just the nicest person in the room. To love and care for a person is to hate the debilitating effects of evil in their life. The above passage also points out that love is more than a belief or theory. There are practical applications to our love. We are to live in community, esteem others and respond to human needs. To love is to give of ourselves. The heart of love can be found in Phil 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This brings me to the topic of romantic love, which is celebrated in February. The problem with how so many in our culture look at love is that romantic love is self serving. “I love you for how you make me feel” is often what we expect in romance. If love is more about my benefit than what I give to another, is it any wonder our culture has so few long term relationships? In closing, it is my prayer for you that you would know our loving God with growing intimacy so that you spread His love to others in your life. May you have a growing reputation for being a person who has a heart full of love and compassion. May God bless and use us this month! -Pastor Rick

Annual Meeting

2

Youth Ministry

2

Faith & Reason

2

February Events

3

Letters from Children

3

Valentine’s Day

4

February Calendar

 
Text Box: February Thoughts on Love Text Box: February 2010 Text Box: Fort Lee Gospel Church Text Box: Gospel News