SERVICING YOUR LOVE SOFTWARE

Have you ever met someone who "walked in love" and "walked in love" and "walked in love" until one day they finally "ran out of steam" and decided they'd had enough? That's when you hear things like I've had it up to here or I can't take this anymore or he has gotten on my last nerve etc. Truth is, many times, folks have merely been using their natural ability to endure interpersonal situations they don't like. Sometimes, however, they've actually been walking in love the whole time, but they failed to service their love software, so they got to a point they felt they just couldn't go any further.

For you to CONSISTENTLY walk in love, you've got to servce your love software. If love is a software, your spirit is the hardware. It doesn't matter how many fabulous softwares I have on my laptop, once the battery power runs out, I can't use them. To function consistently in love towards folks, you've got to service your love software by keeping your spirit "in form" like an athlete keeps his body in form. As your body needs feeding and exercise, your spirit does too.

1. Feed (on God's Word): God's word is milk, it's bread, it's meat (1Peter 2:2, Deuteronomy 8:3, Hebrews 5:12). You put those 3 together the right way and it's a balanced diet! LOL! Much like you feed your body with milk, bread, meat and other goodies, you feed your spirit (the real you) with the Word of God by putting it in your mouth. Not the paper but the words! You THINK, SPEAK and ROAR (SHOUT) God's Word to yourself. That's what Joshua 1:8 literally means by "meditate". I believe the "roar" aspect has to do with confession. Meditate and confess God's Word, especially His Word on love. Feed on 1Corinthians 13, eat Romans 5:5, chew Galatians 5:22, feed fat!

2. Build up: The same way a guy takes his body to the gym to build it, you can register and attend the gym of the Spirit by praying in tongues. A combination of 1Corinthians 14:4&14, Jude 20 and 1Timothy 4:8 makes us to understand that when you pray in tongues, you exercise and build your spirit. As you exercise your spirit, everything in your spirit (including love) finds expression more easily and consistently. Loving becomes the easiest thing in the world to do. Pray much in other tongues! Jude 21 actually says you keep yourself in the love of God as you do so. Not only that, as you pray, you also stir up the gift of God (the Spirit of love) that you've received.

3. Use your love: You want to be "in form" in love? You want to love consistently and not give up? Then use your love software! We learnt how to do that over the last 2 posts. Put the things you know to practice. Love and keep loving and don't stop loving!

Your love never fails!

LOVE COPYCATS

If you went to a "normal" school, the word "copycat" probably evokes images of people stretching their necks like giraffes to peep at a benchmate's script, and probably falling over in the process! We were taught and trained never to "copy". Of course, some people failed to imbibe this training (bless their souls!), but thank God most of us did. When it comes to love, however, you may have to do some unlearning and relearning, because "giraffing" is not such a bad thing here. In fact, you've got to be a master copycat!

Using your love software starts with being willing, but it doesn't end there. Please consider Philippians 2:13 again: it is God that works in us both to will and to DO of His good pleasure. There's a WILL-ing and then there's a DO-ing. Now, how do I do the "DO" part? Simple, DO! In Revelations 2:4&5, in order to bring back the Ephesian church to their "first love", Jesus instructed them to REPENT (change your mind, reset your will) and DO the first WORKS. To walk in love, WILL to love, then DO the WORKS (actions) of love!

Ephesians 5:1 instructs us to be IMITATORS (COPYCATS) of God as dear children. You've gotta be a professional giraffe! Watch God (Love) in the bible, see how he loves; watch Him in your spirit, see how he prompts you to love.....and COPY Him! He has not left us to figure out how to love by ourselves. Rather, He has demonstrated His love toward us in Christ Jesus and all through the bible (Romans 5:8, 1John 3:16).

We copy our Father as dear children, we love as we see Him love. We copy Jesus the Firstborn, we love as we see Him love. We copy the Holy Spirit, we love as He stirs us to love. He's the Spirit of our Father, He's the Spirit of love (Matthew 10:20, 2Timothy 1:7). That means that our Father literally gave us the Spirit by whom He loves, so we can love by the same Spirit exactly as He loves! How do I love by the Spirit of love? Stir up! 2Timothy 1:6&7 says to stir up the GIFT of God.....for (or because) God has GIVEN us the Spirit of love. In prayer, you can stir up the gift of God and bring yourself under His influence as a man does with wine.

Observe Love in His Word, then copy Him. Stir up the Spirit of love, then copy Him. Do the actions of love, even when you don't FEEL the feelings of love. Do the actions of love and continue to do them out of this understanding of love that you have. It's based on what you KNOW, not on what you FEEL. DO love and continue to DO love. PRACTISE love and continue to practise love. Continue till you get to where you unconsciously do love, then continuously continue! And when you fail, don't beat yourself up, when you catch yourself not loving, don't sit down there, dust your boots and run on! Your love NEVER fails!