Dear Beloved,
My message for next week (both in English and in Esperanto languages) is ready
for dissemination. However, as people are celebrating the Valentine's Day today
February 14, I am led to keep that message until another week and resend this
that I have twice sent out in the past. 
"I LOVE YOU"
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good"
(Romans 12:9 NASB).
The sentence "I love you" is common among people, especially people of opposite
sex, either married or single. The sentence is so common that most people have
lost or misinterpreted the real meaning of the most important word in it - love.
To some, "I love you," means I want to get something from you. To others, love
is the glorified word for lust. The intention of "I love you" of others is to
gratify their selfish desire. No wonder, love has become one of the most common
words in any language.
What does love means to you? How are you demonstrating it? Do you really mean it
when you tell somebody, "I love you"? Paul described what love is and what it is
not in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it
is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (NIV). So it means that when I say
"I love you," what I am saying in essence is that: I will be patient with you; I
will be kind with you; I will not envy you; I will not elevate myself higher
than you; I will not be self-centered; I will not be easily provoked by you; I
will keep no record of any wrong you do to me; I will not have hidden agenda
against you; I will be truthful to you; I will protect you; I will trust you; I
will have hope in
you; I will persevere with you; and my love is not temporary. Anything short of
these is hypocrisy.
The love between Jonathan and David is a good example of a love without
hypocrisy. Jonathan demonstrated all those attributes of love described above to
David (see 1 Samuel 18:3-4; 20:1-42; 23:18).
I love you. Do I?
In His service, 
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

+234 805 515 9591

http://www.thewordthruthenet.org/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualdigest2003/



I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will

have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted

in my body, whether by life or by death. FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST

AND TO DIE IS GAIN (Philippians 1:20-21, NIV).




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]