In Order To Love You Must Be Bold

I'm just fully realizing this right now, but in order to love others, you must be bold. You must decide to take action, to express your heart in loving ways, to nurture another person without expecting anything in return. It is always an honor and a pleasure to feel God's love and affection for me in my heart, to know that He cares, will always care about me. I didn't have to do anything special to receive His love. I did not have to follow any rules or traditions, I didn't have to do three 'good deeds' a day so that He would continue to love me. I didn't have to go on some big, glorious quest to find a lost treasure or to slay a dragon; I couldn't have done that without Him anyway.

All I did was decide to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and declare to myself and to the world that He is my personal Lord and Savior, and that I will follow Him all the days of my life. I know that I love Him and I trust Him; it is my faith that keeps me in His presence and my conviction to keep on living as a born again believer despite the consequences or the odds. I have never regretted that decision, and as I grow stronger in my faith, I find that His love permeates my heart and everything thing that I do. It is not easy to love those whom you choose to love without His grace and mercy. I think it is impossible to love your enemies at all without His transforming love; God specializes in the impossible. That is why we must learn to be bold in expressing love and in living our lives, for cowards are not appreciated in the kingdom of God:

Revelation 21 1,5-8

A New Heaven and a New Earth

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.......

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

To Love Is To Be Bold

The definition of a 'coward' is a person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things. We have all been cowardly at some point in our lives, sometimes for good reasons. It is never easy to put yourself out there and be bold if you have never known what it is like to be bold; some people are naturally bold, courageous, and natural encouragers, and some of us have to be taught, disciplined, and encouraged to be bold. The life of Jesus Christ is the perfect example on how to live boldly and proclaim love to others, being humbly surrendered to the voice of God, and His plans for your life.

Cowards cannot enter the kingdom of God, because they are not willing to pay the price for citizenship. I cannot call myself a naturally 'bold' person; when I think of how I was as a child and a teenager, I often remember what other people used to say about me, "she is so quiet, she doesn't say anything...." The truth is sometimes I would be afraid to speak up, but many times I just didn't have anything to say, I was just enjoying whatever activity or discussion that I was hearing. I liked to just ponder things quietly in my heart.

I made a decision a long time ago to believe in God and then to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, but that does not mean that I became 'bold' overnight. It is a process that the Lord has helped me through, to come face to face with my fears, and to allow Him to transform my heart so that I don't let those fears and anxieties stop me from doing His will for my life, or become a barrier from living in His presence. You cannot express love and fear at the same time, because fear will always try to dominate the situation and destroy whatever loving feelings you may have for your spouse, your children, your family, and for other people.

1 John 4:17-19

The Consummation of Love

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

When I came to the conclusion that He would always love me no matter what I look like, or what I say, or what I do, that was a huge revelation for me, because I had never felt unconditional love before. I had at least one example from one person that showed me what I would consider as unconditional love, and I am grateful that person was in my life to show me what it was like, because then when the Lord showed that type of love to me, I knew that it was real and that God was real.

So, I have chosen to do what the Lord would have me to do, even when it is not a comfortable situation or place to be in, and let Him do the work or action through me, because I know that I could not do it without Him. I look forward to becoming even bolder for Him, so that I may express His love to others and to the world.

These is no one bolder in love than Jesus Christ, who allowed himself to be born a man and live among us; He expressed His love to His people, the lost sheep of Israel, preaching that the Kingdom of God has come, and showing the way to true peace, love, and righteousness. He died on the cross to save us all, to give us hope, so that we may worship in God's presence forevermore, and so we will not have to be ashamed of who we are and learn how to love ourselves and each other.

We cannot hope to be as bold as He was without His presence in our lives through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who brings love, peace, and joy into our hearts. There are not enough proper words to express what it is like to live as child of the Most High God, and to know that He will never leave you or forsake you, and that no one can take you out of His hand; you cannot mess with a true child of God without His permission, so if you don't have His permission, be prepared to come face to face with the consequences of your actions. If this child of God has matured in Christ, be prepared to receive unmerited love and appreciation, which will hopefully change your mind about the Lord and His kingdom, and give you the courage, the boldness to seek Him out as the solution to your problems.

If you would like to know what it means to be Bold In Love, and would like to become a citizen to the Kingdom of God, please repeat this prayer:

Prayer of Salvation

Lord,

I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).

I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)

I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).

I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).

If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!

May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN