He Holds Me Forever - Teddy Bear Hugs from Above, Part 1

Have you ever seen a little child hold their very first teddy bear. It's a touching moment to see that little kid pull that warm fuzzy stuffed animal into their arms its pure unashamed love.

Did you know that God cherishes you and me just like that today I'm turning the mic over to my wife Teresa as she talks about that kind of love and how to love others with the same tenderness and experience ourselves stay with.

Thanks for listening to this edition of living only a Living on the Edges of international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians daily teaching of what a heartwarming picture to plaintiff there got very personal love for each of us and as we learned so far in this series separated us from if you know someone who needs to hear that today will take a few minutes after the program ensure the suit.

The chipping about all right, let's join Teresa Ingram now for her message teddy bear hugs from about nine when I was really lonely and I thought I went to work and work on Dan during the weekend I was taking care of my can fall within the weekends would come in I just get so that was the hardest time I was a new believer and I was just beginning to grow spiritually just beginning to attend church on a regular basis and I was becoming acquainted with a few Christian people, but all my friendships with people I worked with so all my friends were built around the work we when the weekends came came to home base me by myself in the reality, the reality of being a single mom was really hard, hard to face heart sounds and being rejected by my husband and no more arms there to hug me know when to tell anyone knowing to tell me that I was important. The focus of their lives until I was just so and so much so that it just got over whelming times and it was on Windows days that I felt that way so overwhelming that I cry out to the Lord Jesus to my door would you send somebody to me and about 15 or 12 and said there was a knock at the door and I hope well and there was and wasn't exactly dark stranger, and sweet prince charming work, but it was and she went to be in her 60s and she was a laudable way is very short. She had a great big smile on her face and she introduced herself as my next-door neighbor and I found out was also and she tell me I got to know each other in her story.

She later in life and how her adult children had taken signs between her husband and now she rarely saw her children and grandchildren said she was really a cafeteria worker. She worked in the cafeteria at the college I was a secretary and she wasn't exactly what I pictured in my mind to fill out my loneliness that she was a gift from God because she was a tangible expression of his lamp to me in a way I can feel the way that I could see the kind really became the best of friends. Lori and her life to help her come to know him as her Savior and she was a person she could say something negative in any situation that she was an associate expressed that all the time that I watched tarnishing she could ever be around and she was so encouraging to me shows God's love to me spending time with me. She helped me with my kids and she and she listened as I shared my struggles with her. She had an amazing gift player piano should never had a lesson in her life and she play the best of times, just in time.

Amazing gift to me that God gave to show his love, and there is life is not was not fancy at all.

There was nothing about her that would make her stand out in the crowd.

She's just common ordinary person ordinary cafeteria worker and the world will remember her for any great achievements or any heroic acts that you want God used a powerful way to show his love to me and to lots of other people she grew in the Lord and I and I can see the way that I can understand God's love and I just can't wait to see you someday.

Now I can't wait to see her and were going to have a good time sharing about how God brought these two unlikely people together and we became the best of friends and the greatness of our heavenly father allowing us to love one another, and so on.

But this lesson is about loving one another and I was trying to come up with the title for this message and all I can think of. Every time I was thinking of loving one another was teddy bears that the only picture that kept coming to my mind and I don't know if if you fall,. And walked past all these teddy bears the third distant door and look at all of them and just never grown for stuffed animals them and store when I sit there always have to go and look at it and think some because I stop in every stuffed animal that I because it looks so kindly so inviting you know when a child is sick and many times again.

Something about coming on brings comfort such will feel loved it so I thought there would be a good picture for us to remember loving one another. We reflect the heart of God. When we live when it's a reflection of his heart and in the book of first John we find out what it means to love one another as children of God.

First John tells us how happens work. Why are we to love one another.

John the apostle wrote this book and he walked with Christ and he saw Christ he knew him intimately and he saw and somehow taught us all how you cared and sacrificed for people and children experience is and he wrote this epistle of first John to help believers come to have insurance under salvation, he knew for sure if they belonged to hear the family of God, and he wrote this book in very simple words about the basics of the faith when he spoke in this letter he talks about the contrast between darkness and light compares true false teaching and eternal life with and he also makes the contrast of the love for God and love for others with that of the world. One of the world and hatred for others it's open Outlook. Just briefly the book of first John and make observations about what to teach us about loving, and so the first thing we see here is that we are commanded to love one another company given us by God.

In first John 278. He says dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for is and it is an old one.

You have always had right from the beginning. This commandment to love one another is the same message you heard before.

It is also new this commandment is true in Christ is true among you, because the darkness is disappearing on the tree line is already shining in the Old Testament in Leviticus 1918, we find love one another that was given by God to Moses for the people of Israel. It says never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone love your neighbor as yourself. It was a comedian, given long time ago by Moses to the people of Israel and so John is saying your total commandment is one that you always knew gets new because Jesus has come as an example of what true love really is what it looks like he is an example of what it looks like to love others and if allotment goes beyond just loving those who love you know it's a love like Christ, to love it self-sacrificing love itself giving it to serve the kind of love.

It's the kind of love that reaches out to our enemies and loves those who persecute us.

And Jesus says in a 543 to 48 you have heard it heard that the law of Moses says love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you in that way you will be acting as true children of your father in heaven, for he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good and he sends rain on the chest and on the unjust.

To exhume not only those who love you, what good is that even corrupt tax collectors do that much if you are kind, only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else. Even pagans do that you are to be perfect, even father is perfect and you see radical kind. It's not the kind of love we can stir up within ourselves.

Kind that comes up now as Christ isn't home hearts. God says to us that we are to love one commandment he's given us is not an option. The second thing is our love for one another is that we belong to him that we belong to Christ. If we say we belong to Christ and we continually hate someone else and we need to do some real soul soul-searching to see if we are really in family and first John two 1911 it says. Anyone who says I am the light that rejects another Christian is still in darkness but anyone who loves other Christians is walking in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble. Those who reject other Christians are wandering in spiritual darkness. Don't know where they are going for the darkness is made in blind and then first John 310.

So now we can tell who are children of God, and who are children of the devil.

Anyone who does not obey God's commands and long Christian does not belong to first John 314 if we monitor Christians to pray is that we have passed from death to eternal life, but a person who doesn't love them still.

Dan see the love have for our brothers and sisters in Christ is evidence it's proof that we belong to God, it shows that we have eternal life expressed through the body of Christ is the greatest testimony of the reality of Jesus we will ever have lines.

Jesus says that by this shall all men know you are my disciples. When for one another and this is not St. of even though we are to love other believers we are to love one another is not saying that we we never get angry with someone because we do, and it's not saying that we never disliked the way a person acts and it's not saying that we have to put up with things that are wrong or damaging to the body of Christ that someone is doing and it's not saying they own connection with everybody. With every person that we meet because we won't do we like being around everybody because I don't know about you but I don't I don't connect with every person but what he is saying here is that this line is to the heart and that we have the ability to love others because of this new life for us. That has been given to us when we invited Christ into our lives when the Holy Spirit comes a moment. Salvation dwells within us takes up residence in this for the rest of our earthly lives, then we begin to take on the nature of God we become like Christ. And then we allow the spirit to have control we begin to live other people. Radical kind Howard laugh different in the world sticky. It's the kind of love that enables us to love our enemies know it enables us to love the people who persecute us, allows us to forget we have people who mistreat us and allows us to love others and not expect anything in return. Love that once what's best for either people. No matter what the cost sleeping was a little poem that I read the short little thing he said he drew a circle that shut me out heretic rabble thing to plant the love I had the wit to win.

We drew a circle took seats on radical kind. The next thing here is that God's love is poured out in her heart by the Holy Spirit. First John four 7013 dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is really love.

It is not that we love God but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much. We surely ought to love each other. No one's ever seen God, but if we love each other. God lives in his mother's been brought to full expression through us and God has given us his Spirit is proof that we live in his spirit is proof and Pete pours out his indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives in Maryland 555 it says for we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us his Holy Spirit fill our hearts with his love. Holy Spirit fills us in this means, in other words, that he plans hearts sass with his life. As we surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit's control. We will begin to experience and to know understand more understand more the greatness of God's love for us. Scripture says that with it and the flood felt where I grew up in West Virginia there was a large creek that ran right in front of our house. It was also beside the main road that went by and every spring nearly every spring when the storms would come this stream will begin to rise and we would watch it as it was many times come to the place it was overflowing its banks and was in the straight and sometimes part of the little town was underwater that the slide as he watched it powerful thing. It's it's a powerful flow.

It's a strong force and we would just watch in fascination and all the things that would go down the road and the force of this family tree limb.

Every piece of loose debris that was laying around anywhere floating down the road in front of our house and so we stood there with excitement and watched what was going to float down the road of our house.

The force of is a powerful thing surroundings, it changes the way things look, and you can't stop it so powerful when God's love is poured out in our hearts when our hearts are flattened with the love of God, you can't help but love other people is just the way it is because the force is so strong that it changes the way things look changes how we look at people's a powerful thing and it changes other people's words as good love that way.

God is the source of our love and we can't make it happen. Onorato happens as we grow and spend time with God's word and fellowship with him when next we are to love others as Christ loved us first John 316 we know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us so we also to give up our lives for Christian friends know one thing I thought was really wonderful about Jesus life is that he model for us how to practically love people. Very practical way, and he gave us such a wonderful example to follow along sacrificially that his lab was always looking out best for the people and he was turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony in his love was practical was looking up for what it was. Maybe healing a blind man for taking time told a child having concern over the people that were following him listening to his teaching hungry and feed them. His life was practical and it always reached out and touched other people's lives when they needed the most. And if we ever have a decision to make you for thinking about whether I should love that person. How can I do. We need to ask the question how would Jesus person and I think it will become really clear how to love and we are called upon matches. This passage says to give up our lives for someone else.

We don't do that much today but we love Jesus, love, sacrifice of time when we give up our energy. When we share our possessions when we use our abilities to serve other people we reach out to others in need, and we are getting a nice for friends love for others is expressed by actions, not just my words. First John 317 and 18 but if one of you have enough money to live well brother or sister in need and refuses to help. How can God's love in that person dear children stop just saying we love each other we show actions. This really show it. Love is a verb, it should word response to others needs. When we have the resources to do so. The Scripture says longline word leader in turn that indeed truth. It's an action word DL Moody, who is the founder of the Bible Institute used to say that every Bible should be bound and she was a really wonderful thing to think about because it's easy to say we love others is easy to say how concerned we are to talk about it, but it's when we actually put shoe leather to it that God's love is truly expressed through our lives and not the kind of person that gets on an airplane and shares my faith just does that all the time I get them every time you like to get on the plane when booking is not Christlike of all times. I was sitting with his young and he was in the Navy. He was very friendly. We got to talk to me talk the whole way and the more I talked 41 the Lord would say a few words and question mark something else just recently nailed his material. He wanted to know more.

It was the most exciting thing and we need respondent to the Lord and love the way he would.

My mom had a heart attack was followed by open-heart surgery and she was in the hospital. Clearly other side of the country and my dad was there with her and they don't have a lot of family and friends around them to be supportive of Jews she was in critical condition, but she was stable at the time and my dad was staying there at the hospital and sleeping in a chair for two weeks because he was so far away from home and he didn't have any place to go and so it was a was a difficult situation for them and at the same time I was really overwhelmed with things were going on in my own life and we) heavenly trip planned to read intently.

We were supposed to meet the people walk through space look for Harrelson in which all these things going on and I was so preparing for the retreat and just so many things happening in my life so I was struggling when we do and how I respond in the situation every day I would come talk to him and told him I did this for a few days after week. I just realized that those words felt so deep to me. I guess they just didn't feel like real laughing and so I prayed and I asked the Lord what he wanted me to do any show to go so talk it over with Chapman. We were landed in Atlanta. See when put shoe leather to God's truth for man and I was so amazed at what Conti I let go of all the things I needed to do house and I didn't do a lot of other things that I was supposed to do what God would need to love she would love than an God of all kinds of doors and share with my parents and open up the Scriptures so that shoe God didn't create this vision that would bring over huge.

The blizzard you just heard bear hugs from above is from Teresa series holds me forever June trip will be right back.

To follow up on her teaching to the aim of this series is to emotionally connect us with the heart of God to really experience his deep love for us. So here's the question do you feel close to your heavenly father or is there something keeping you from that kind of relationship Teresa would encourage you to bravely step out and embrace this tender side of God. A great way to help you get started is by digging into the messages will be holds me forever to check out the resource options for the series go to LivingontheEdge.org call AAA 333-6003 or click on special offers on the trip and remap. Now here's trip with a quick thought. I want to take just a moment to talk about something today.

It's very important you might engage with Living on the Edge and obviously you are you know you may be listening to me on it on an Apple Radio One Pl.com or maybe you were in a small group study or you took a course online or maybe even read a book that I had the privilege of writing God.

To my amazement, and it humbles me is using Living on the Edge in incredible ways and I just have to say we get testimonies from people about restoration and healing and God using them to help other people and then I want to tell you very very candidly that we are very serious about using the money in the resources that God gives very carefully and very wisely, but also to bring to your attention that it actually takes money for airtime in these teams that create these resources and all the things that happen behind Living on the Edge. There's a group of people with costs involved that allow you to hear me or be in a small group or get teaching and here's who I'm talking to.

If you have been helped encouraged me literally blessed by Living on the Edge and you happen to be one of those people that has never given financially to the ministry. I just want to just pause and say would you consider partnering with us to help us help other people and maybe it's a one-time gift.

Maybe it's a small amount that you want to do monthly. I don't know. Here's the here's the deal would you just be willing to say Lord, do you want me to do this, and for some of you, you can't that's fine but just ask that honest question.

And if God leads you to give. I will tell you will use it wisely invested ministry to help a lot of people. So thanks for prayerfully considering to do whatever God chose you to do if partnering with Living on the Edges no idea it would make sense to you. We'd love to have you join us helping Christians live like Christians will change the world we live in. Give a gift. Just give us a call at AAA 333-6003, or if you prefer to give online you can donate securely by going to LivingontheEdge.org. Your generosity is greatly appreciated without your stripping Teresa with a final thought about today's message Teresa.

Toward the end of today's teaching you shared something really powerful where your mom was in the hospital when you were calling every day and you had this line that really struck me. It felt so empty. Just to say words and say I love you and you felt this compulsion that you needed to act and go visit them and be with them and you talk to the very end about don't always feel like doing the right thing but love demands a real step of action. I'm wondering as we think of all the issues going on in the world today. Could you give us some practical ways that we could put love in action in this current environment.

Yes, we can get so focused on ourselves and how we feel and what I need and what do other people need to do for me and and we do need to care for ourselves. I'm not saying that we don't but are better and to needs to be about serving other people and loving others. I remember the first Christian book I ever read. After I became a believer was all about serving other people and and I was hurting desperately I wanted life to change that God showed me that one way to help myself even was to begin to look at the needs of other people and to serve them and as I did that, then I would actually grow in my relationship with the Lord and I would I I would feel better. It would melt.

Help me to to feel a lot better even in the difficulties that I was in and I think about Jesus and when he came to the earth and left his heavenly home and all the goodness and perfection of heaven and so he gave up everything of his heavenly home to serve us and he gave his life he he sacrificed everything in-service for us and I believe that he desires that we follow in his footsteps and we we serve others and love others in the same way that he loved us one way that we can all work be practical and this is to think about and be aware of what other people are going through to be aware of their needs to think about what can I do to help. And when when were in need. Ask for help, but as Ford in a kind way and treat others just treat others the way that you would want to be treated.

And I think doing that God will show us how practically to live out his love for others, it really is so counterintuitive that even when were hurting to take the step and just help someone else. Even a small way can really turn your daily life. Great portrait books as we close, would you pray for those who are feeling challenged to respond to trips, encouragement, right know there's always a spiritual battle when we feel prompted to draw near to God, thanks for taking a minute to do that and there's a way we can pray for you.

Would you let us know. Call AAA 333-6003 or email chip@livingontheedge.org. We'd love to hear from the looks time for everyone here is saying thanks for listening. This vision of living all the