Episode 3, "Your Forever Valentine" Series: "Stay in His Presence" Season 13

Welcome to Episode 3, "Your Forever Valentine," in our "Stay in His Presence " series.

We dedicate the podcasts to the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost this year. We are covering His characteristics or attributes from "A" to "Z." I had hoped to take the podcast sequentially–A, B, C, D, E, etc.; however, because life does not flow sequentially, we will move randomly throughout the alphabet instead. In the last episode, we covered the letter "C" for Comforter. We will skip to the letter "L" for Love this week because this is Valentine's Week. 

My name is Stephanie Wright. Let's talk Love. 

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Transcript

Welcome to Episode 3, "Your Forever Valentine," in our "Stay in His Presence " series.

We dedicate the podcasts to the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost this year. We are covering His characteristics or attributes from "A" to "Z." I had hoped to take the podcast sequentially–A, B, C, D, E, etc.; however, because life does not flow sequentially, we will move randomly throughout the alphabet instead. In the last episode, we covered the letter "C" for Comforter. This week, we will skip to the letter "L" for Love because we will celebrate Valentine’s Day this week.

My name is Stephanie Wright. Let’s talk Love.

Do you remember when you first fell in love or thought you were in love? I do, and no one could convince me I wasn’t in love and didn’t know the true meaning of love. Years later, I finally met the man who is now my husband of 52 years. We eloped after only three weeks of getting to know each other! Was it true love 52 years ago? For us, it wasn’t about love but about reality, about being able to support each other financially, emotionally, and so on. And of course, yes, there was the physical attraction. But true love didn’t come until later; love is still developing.

 But let’s get to the fundamental question. Do you remember when you first fell in love with Jesus, or have you fallen in love with Him? I remember when the seed of love for salvation and Christ was planted in me. The Word of God came while attending Sunday service in a little storefront church in St. Louis, Missouri. The Word came forth from a man known as Bishop Dwight McDaniels. He has gone on to be with the Lord now. I did not give my life to Jesus on that Sunday when the Word touched my soul and my spirit. It didn’t happen until two or so years later while sitting on my kitchen floor in Lubbock, Texas. But Jesus started the chase for my soul in St. Louis (you know, that’s what someone who really loves you does-they chase you down). The scriptures say He chose us, we didn’t choose Him (John 15:16), and He left the 99 sheep behind to find the one (Luke 15:4‑7). In this case, I was that one sheep. One day, you were the one sheep, too, or is He still looking for you? He started chasing me, and finally, I gave up and gave in. I “married” Jesus and exchanged vows with Him on Sunday, March 23, 1975, almost 50 years ago. The relationship has had its ups and downs. Not because of Jesus but because I was still learning how much Jesus loved me.

You see, we cannot know true love if we do not know God. Four kinds of love are listed in the Bible, and God's kind of love is called agape love. The other three, which we will not go into detail on, are eros (romantic love), storge (family love), philia (brotherly love), and agape, all of which are Greek words. God’s agape love is why, through the ups and downs, He continues to love and forgive us when we fail Him. Now, that is real love. 1 John 4:16 says, “We have come to know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” God is love, so it follows that, as previously stated, you have to know Him to love Him.

His love for us was first exhibited when He created us. Then, after man sinned (Adam and Eve, that is), His love was shown by sacrificing His only Son, and the Son agreeing to be that sacrifice for our sins. But, the most wonderful thing about the love God had for us was that He sent the Holy Ghost back to earth after Jesus returned to heaven. Why was it so wonderful? Because when the Holy Spirit descended to earth, He empowered us with love and taught us to love. God made sure we were partakers of His love through the gift of the Holy Ghost. Romans 5:5 tells us, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.” And Galatians 5:22 tells us the first fruit of the Holy Spirit is love.

The Holy Ghost empowers us to love God and love others. We do not know how to love with the love of God without the Holy Spirit. Agape love is what teaches us a lot of things. Only with agape love can we do everything listed in the love chapter, I Corinthians 13:4‑8a. That chapter says love is patient, kind, does not envy, is not arrogant, is not conceited or rude, doesn’t think only of self or get annoyed, is not resentful, does not get happy over lies or with evil but is glad about the truth, bears up in every circumstance, believes and hopes for the best in everyone, and finally love never fails. Now, tell me that isn’t a tall order to fill. That is why we need to be filled with the Holy Ghost; only the Holy Ghost can fill an order that tall. It reminds me of that commercial on TV a while back when a woman was trying to lose weight, and she could not do it on her own; she had to use the weight loss product they were advertising to lose weight. She said, “You can’t do it all by yourself.” Well, that is how it is to love with an agape love. You can’t do it all by yourself. We need the Holy Spirit.

What does Romans 5:5 mean when it says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.” I think of it as God’s love flowing throughout and permeating every part of who we are. The Spirit takes God’s love and breathes it into our very being. That love is oxygen for our souls. The love that is shed abroad empowers us anew every day to extend God’s love to others, whether they be family, friends, or foes. Yes, the love shed abroad empowers us to love even our enemies. “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Luke 6:28.

True love is God’s love. This pure love is powered by the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to love with an agape heart. I hope that during this Valentine’s season, you will know or be reacquainted with the real, true love of your life: Jesus Christ, who sent the Holy Spirit to reside in you as “Your Forever Valentine.”

This concludes this episode and segues into a special invitation for you. If you have not received Jesus as your Savior and Lord—"Your Forever Valentine,” today would be a good day to do so. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved, that is, saved from a life of sinning against God to a life of serving Him and spending eternity with Him." 

Thank you for being with us today. Join us next time for another segment on the Holy Spirit as we "Stay in His Presence." 

Now, we will close with the final words from Apostle Charles on how you may contact us.