Dear Insiders,
Happy Valentines Day... HAPPY TGIF FRIDAY ( THANK GOD I'M FORGIVEN FRIDAY)
I love the history of Valentines Day. I am posting it at the end of todays post if you aren't aware of the history of this day of love.
Let us all keep in mind that today is not a day filled with chocolates, flowers & love for many. It is a difficult day and a day of broken heartedness for so many. I have 3 dear friends who lost their husbands in the last few months and are experiencing their first Valentines Day without them.
Please remember to reach out to those who are walking this same journey and are walking through a tough time.
There are no words to express the Ultimate LOVE and sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us . He is our Ultimate Valentine and He is Number one in our lives our spouses are our #2. When we prioritize our marriages this way He blesses us greatly.
As I have pondered the love of Christ for us, and the different ways the Bible shares this incredible love... I am humbled beyond words.
First, we know the depth of someone's love for us by what it costs them: Jesus paid for our sins by DYING THE DEATH WE DESERVED AND TAKING ON EVERY SINGLE SIN WE COMMITTED TO PAY THE PRICE FOR US TO BE IN HEAVEN.
Second, we know the depth of someone's love for us by how little we deserve it. If we have treated him well all our life, and have done all that he expects of us, then when he loves us, it will not prove as much love as it would if he loved us when we had offended him, and shunned him, and disdained him. The more undeserving we are, the more amazing and deep is his love for us. The depth of Christ's love in relation to how undeserving we are is proof that we are the objects of His love (Romans 5:5–8).
Third, we know the depth of someone's love for us by the greatness of the benefits we receive in being loved. If we are helped to escape from an oppressive captivity and given freedom for the rest of our life, we will feel loved another way. And if we are rescued from eternal torment and given a place in the presence of God with fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, we will know a depth of love that surpasses all others (1 John 3:1–3).
AS WE GO ABOUT THIS DAY WHERE THE WORLD CELEBRATES LOVE AND OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND OUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER, LET US REMEMBER OUR ULTIMATE VALENTINE...
JESUS AND LET US LIVE WITH GRATITUDE FOR ALL HE GAVE WITH HIS ULTIMATE SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS TO PAY THE DEBT FOR OUR SIN.
AMEN!!!!
Who Was the Real St. Valentine?
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Still others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.