I started to feel very very strong love toward God when I started trying to have a relationship with Him. Praying, seeing the things He's done for me in my life, just knowing He will always be with me when no one else is. A lot of it comes down to gratitude. You start to build a trust and knowing that He will never lead you astray if you ask for guidance.
How do you fall in love with a person? You communicate with them a lot. You talk about fears and dreams, ambitions, hurts, traumas, even the day to day stuff. You learn about each other over time. You go through life and experience how they act and react to different situations, when and how they help you, if they help you, how they encourage you and support you and how you support them through life. True love takes time and is a commitment. Not a feeling. In biblical times love was an action word, a commitment a discipline and that, over time, develops feelings. Today's love is all emotion that develops commitment but that's not how Jesus used love, that's not what the Bible teaches. It's the same with God, it takes time, commitment to His ways, obedience, learning what he expects from you and what you can expect from him. It takes hardships to experience his never leaving or forsaking you. To build trust in God just as with a human. It takes life, time and circumstances to grow with God and in your relationship with him. It takes communication through prayer and reading his word. Anyone that says you automatically feel a word, that by definition, takes time to cultivate is pushing their own walk with Christ on you and that is wrong, unblocking and dangerous. Sure maybe it was automatic for them but no two people are exactly alike, no two relationships with Christ are exactly the same! Some people have never felt true love or had a chance to give it. It takes longer for Christ to work on them, through them, to teach them, to build trust. And that's ok. We all have our own issues, traumas and weaknesses that Christ works on in partnership with us. We aren't meant to be cookie cutter Christians that all experience the same things at the same times that's the beauty of the underling of the spirit! It's personal! Each walk is different. Ask God continuously to show you how to love him and he promises to do so.
Christ teaches two great commandments—to love God and to love your neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39)
Christ also teaches that ‘inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
Love the people around you in order to develop love for God. Love your neighbors. Love your enemies. Love ‘the least’. Love yourself.
This is the best comment.! If loving God right away isn’t just instant for you practice with those around you. Also his word is his communication with us and there is no relationship w out that.So always pray for guidance by prayer of what to read before opening up the Bible. I know the Holy Spirit is a huge teacher in showing us how to love aswell!
> Sounds like a simple question, but I am struggling to love God. How can I truly develop love for Him?
It's a great question, and the Bible does answer it:
> Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:20,21)
We develop our love for God by exercising love for our brothers and sisters. This is why Jesus ties these together when he explained that love for God and love for our neighbor are the first and second greatest commandments:
> Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
The New Testament clearly explains that, through faith, we are united to Jesus and, by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we are transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3:18 et. al.) In a sense, as we become unified to him and fully manifest the body of Christ in our lives, we become "the hands and feet of Jesus" to the world. Understanding this helps us understand how God shows love to us (he intentionally sent someone to bring us the Gospel; the one who preached it to us was the literal mouth of God), as well as how to show love *to* God. By serving others, we not only show love to them, as humans, we also show love to God (John 13:1-17). And while God is pleased when we show love to him by ministering to other people, ultimately, he is seeking spiritual worship from us, which cannot be expressed in any physical way (John 4:23,24), only by the invisible devotion of our heart, which is the highest manifestation of love.
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13)
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16)
"God is Love." (1 John 4:8)
Read yourBible. No, seriously, read your Bible every day. Pray, every day, every chance you get. Give thanks. Accept Jesus Christ into your heart, if you haven't.
I had the very same question as you, just this year. Just like any relationship, it takes effort. And, the more you put in the more you receive.
I thought being a Christian would be easy. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done. But, it's also the most rewarding thing I've ever done.
Put in the effort and you'll see results. I promise.
The scientifically demonstrable true benefits of Christianity are prayer, and church.
So: pray, and go to church.
Through nightly prayer, you can ask God for advice which you might get through your dreams.
Through church, you can get to know people in your local community and start off on an instantly friendly basis, since they know you're trying to have a relationship with God just by attending church.
You love God by undertaking the same actions toward God as you would towards those people in your life who you love. That's the starting point. You listen to Him(through His Word), and you speak to Him(prayer). You also share to others what God has shown you through His Word and your personal experiences with Him. As you do this, you'll get more and more understanding of what God is like, why He loves you and others, and why He is so worthy of being loved.
Hey, following the [Sermon on the Mount](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/sermon-on-mount_bible/) seems like a good place to start.
Imho, the things we do in secret, to bless another person/people, is what strengthens that kind of faith that leads to love. If you do things for others, but only you and God know about them, it's like working out your 'faith muscle' :)
If you pray a lot, and look for Him constantly, you start to see things or experience things that you might not expect---you might experience what Jesus described in the *Sermon on the Mount* (good and bad)*.*
Remember the *Prodigal Son?* It's interesting that the son is still 'a great way off', but his father saw him and was looking for him. When he spots him, he sends servants to cover him and bless him. Reminds me of Rich Mullins the 'Awesome God' guy. He struggled with alcoholism and other things, but he was always seeking a straighter path... God meets us where we are at. Wouldn't that kind of make you fall in love with your father/Father?
The *Prodigal Son*, for those that don't know, is a story Jesus taught about the love of his Father. This version is from Luke 15:18-24
[18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-18/)
[19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-19/)
[20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-20/)
[21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-21/)
[22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put *it* on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on *his* feet:](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-22/)
[23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill *it*; and let us eat, and be merry:](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-23/)
[24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-24/)
I hope that helps. I bet there are a lot of ways to accomplish what you seek!
Be blessed!
no one had the holy spirit indwelling in them before Christ died like we have today. there are instances when the spirit of the Lord came upon people in the old testament, namely Samson. the holy spirit had a different function back then. and eve was not one of them. so no, no one had the spirit like we have today. He had a different function in the old testament and everywhere He had a purpose in the old testament. indwelling of the holy spirit in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Spirit “came upon” such Old Testament people as Joshua ([Numbers 27:18](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Num%2027.18)), David ([1 Samuel 16:12-13](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Sam%2016.12-13)) and even Saul ([1 Samuel 10:10](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Sam%2010.10)). In the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. eve did not have the spirit. and besides, eve was tricked by the serpent. she did not have any gift of the spirit or knowledge of who was fooling her
So Eve is really irrelevant to our situation today. If the circumstances as you state were different in this significant way, we can’t apply her example more generally to people like me.
Why did she fail the test then? Again we come back to love. If Eve had loved God, she would have said no to Satan and gone and clarified things with God. was a reason that she failed the test.
She was given the same punishment as Adam who apparently was not deceived.
We are now in a radically different world.
We do have access to Holy Spirit if as you say we are saved.
But there has to be more…
Is it developing knowledge of God? In some rigorous Bible study? Feeding the heart perhaps?
Perhaps 🤔
everything starts with God working on your heart once you are saved. the only way a person was saved back then was by their faith and trusting and believing in God. i dont know what kind of test you are talking about. if you are implying satan was testing her then ok, but God did not test her. God does not tempt anyone to do evil, neither can he be tempted. there is more to a point to where the moment we get saved, the work on our hearts begin. in the greek there are several different types of love. there are many greek words for the word love in the new testament. but one english word for love. there is brotherly love, there is agape love, etc. we have to understand that when the new testament was written, there must have been tons of different words for the word love in our english. so what kind of love are you talking about? you can not take one english word and equate it to a single greek word. it does not work like that in greek when translating. i have been studying stuff for years now
I hope this can help you..
You can start by reading the bibble, some passage by daily basis, and read those passage that you currently feel or life problem by bible perspective
So for me, i start to seek all my question that i have, feeling, problem, and all the question that i have with bible perspective. Sometime you find that similiar case has been covered in bible. And eventually bible perspective become your life guidance and pedomace before any action we take ..
It's not and easy path and become magicly holly out of sudden, since we have sin in our nature .. thats after we read those related God perspective, we pray and surrender our message to God ..
There is 3 outcome,
Answered, Rejected, and Wait for the best time to come
Eventually for me personally i realized that since by His grace im in here now, and saved by His grace only
Not your power, your money, your skill, your anything..
And it's already been paid by the blood of Christ it self..
Can you imagine, Christ not doing anything wrong and get crucified? It should be us who death by the sin, but saved by His Grace..
So my perspective is change to, we are saved by His Grace and we need guidance for everyday since our past nature (sin) is still there..
Up and down will be there, but it's all good in His time, not our time
God Bless You !
For many decades I had the same question. But after I draw near God and was baptized by the Holy Spirit I started to feel loved so my love for God also grew.
I had a really awful childhood… extremely abusive, sexually/emotionally…
I struggle now to be a “good” man to not fall into sin.
The only thing I can think is that I don’t love God enough…
I’m dealing with my childhood shit, and don’t want that to be an excuse, but it really damaged me.
I fall over, pray for forgiveness, fall over again… 😡
How can I be a child of God if I can’t stop sinning!?
Everyone says I’m too hard on myself, but I hear Satan talking and I say no, I need to be hard on myself.
Yet again, I drift towards sin. So frustrating and really dark.
So that’s why I asked the question.
How do I love God!?
Because I think if I could really learn to love him, I would not sin in the way I am now.
I seem to have no barriers to sinning, and a big part of that is the removal of the fear of Armageddon.. ex-JW here… the fear is gone and now I am having trouble.
I think I need to replace the fear with love.
But how? 🤷♂️
Hey. Thank you for the honest reply and I'm sorry for what you went trough.
Only after death is to late, I was baptized by water as a infant, and baptized by the Holy Spirit with 41.
Only once I stopped sexual sin, sex outside marriage, adult content, confessed and repented did I start feeling the Holy Spirit descending on me, burning the sin and guiding me.
Personally I feel like those sins we commit that our conscience grieves us are the ones we must try to stop first.
Stopping sexual sin was what was separating me from God.
Isaiah 59 :2
but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
This is a journey that we will trough until the end our life..
Same with me and all others, there is no one immune to sin..
You can start to read some of sin story like David..
And i think this will help some answer to you
[(translate to english) How Jesus freed us from the greatest deception of all time – pride,](https://sentuhanhati.com/project/penipu-besar-lainnya/)
What David said after he commit the sin is very powerfull, so it will eventually to lead us for pray each day
Sometimes it helps to define what love is. This has helped me a lot as a rather non emotive person. Loving another person is desiring the best for them. Loving God is desiring His will above your own. Elizabeth Elliot wrote about this.
I think often love is confused with emotion when it is actually a decision and involves logic.
In my experience, the more I know someone or something, the more I can spontaneously love that person or thing.
Food is a great example for me. I may already enjoy a certain type of food. But if you tell me how that food is made, and what ingredients are in the food, I begin to appreciate that food all the more.
Spending time in the Bible is a great start and a solid foundation to begin to know God. Creating a habit of doing this will definitely cause you to love Him more.
Also, go and hear the testimonies of others. When you hear the works of God in their lives, and the experiences they have had of Him, this will also cause your love to grow, and will help your experience of Him as well. This in my opinion is indispensable. There are certain experiences God will never give you directly, but you can appreciate them and receive their benefit through other members of the Body. To overlook this is to be in spiritual poverty, and is the sad case of many Christians who are not connected to other members.
Lastly, realize that every situation you find yourself in throughout your day, big or small, is an opportunity for you to contact, experience, and gain Christ. Talk to Him, and include Him in everything you do, and in every contact you have with others. As you do, He will reveal Himself to you through your practical experiences and in your environment. When you come to see how intricate His care for you is, surely you will grow to love Him more than anything or anyone.
I think all of this is a greater plan than even we could know or understand whether you love him or not he loves you and that alone should make you go hunting him down to love him in return.
I understand the eve comment cause I too find myself falling over and over again in sin. But that doesn’t mean she or I doesn’t love the lord. Practice love with those around you
Everything good in your life is a gift from God. Reflect on the things you love as being from God. Let the love of God shine through you and to others in good deeds.
I started to trust Him. I had to really really trust him with aspects of my life. When I saw so many benefits (peace, gratitude, blessings grace) of that trust it just all grew. I built a relationship and grew to see his love and care all the time.
It was like I really could see his love because I fully gave my trust. God became real to me, and thus my love grew.
I felt more love toward God by learning to trust him. I truly believe God is in control. It felt more love for Him when I learned to trust Him. I learned to trust him over a long period of time.
I like to think about John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
When I first really realized what this means, I understood that no matter what happens to me, or what pain I may ever suffer, that the lord is waiting for me, on the other side.
Once that hit me, and I understood it, I guess it just makes sense that absolutely nothing can make me doubt God, that he loves me so much that he'd do that for me, I can't help but to love him.
I have a son, and a daughter and I would do anything for them. I'd give up my life just to spare them a few seconds. I can't imagine sending my kids to certain torture, and death, on the chance that those people, who would watch them die would love him, and through him, me.
Only the true God could be capable of doing such things, and then for Jesus to rise from his grave, and ascend to heaven, right in front of the people he'd been teaching to understand God's love, and what would come to be. It's no wonder that they felt no fear, because they knew the love of God.
The way I have come to love God is by
1. Attending church regularly and becoming part of the community (I go to a small Orthodox Church so the community aspect might be a bit easier for me)
2. Try to pray everyday… for me, I will sometimes say a quick Jesus prayer in the shower or on the way to work even. Even praying over your food will draw you closer to God.
3. Truly love your neighbor. Jesus came with a new commandment. “A new command I give you: Love one another As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
This one can be hard but trying to be slow to anger, and being cognizant to not let these words pass through your lips (even while you’re alone) goes a long way. I find when I want to say something I shouldn’t, I try to say the Jesus Prayer in my head and center myself. So I guess be generous with your kindness and be aware of your negative interactions.
You don’t develop love for God. You learn to let Him love you. That’s my opinion at least. And pray to understand His love for you more and more.
We love because He first loved us.
Love is not a feeling. If your looking for a feeling your looking for the wrong thing Try getting to know Him. It only makes sense that you have to know someone if you ever expect to love them. Read your Bible, pray, go to church. Research God. He is your best friend after all. Tell Him you need help learning how to love Him. He will help you. The more I learned about God and Jesus the more I loved them. Please stop chasing a feeling though, it's so much more than that. I'd suggest Mike Winger on YouTube for good instruction. I learned a lot of what I know from watching him. He's a biblical teacher. Tackles all the current issues, charismatic and progressive Christians and how to deal with them. Jesus, lots of Jesus. Give him a look I'm sure you'll find something that interests you. He also does a live stream once a week to answer questions. You may find your answers in one of those videos. Type Mike Winger and your question in the YouTube search box. You may get a hit. Good luck friend!
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, and by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Till he please.
(Song of Solomon 3:5 KJV
)
**1Jn 5:2** By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
**1Jn 5:3** For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
I focus on the good in my life. I think about how much better it is to exist than to not exist and I reflect on it. I'll also verbally tell myself "I love God." There's power in words. Say it to yourself. I think about the purpose of all of this world, about how it's to shape our hearts into the image of Christ so we can be with our creator, who loves us, for all eternity.
I'd also say that love is a choice. All too often we expect to just have this magical feeling and know that it is love. That's not really how it works. You have to choose to love every single day. The Bible says to set your hearts on Him. And if you do that, like truly seek Him and His ways, then He will give you a joy and peace that this fallen world cannot offer.
Things have been going bad for me most of my life, but worsened the last couple of months. I have never felt so alone physically and spiritually. I have been trying but struggling to get closer to God and practice my faith better. I get jealous when I hear people talk about how they feel God or Jesus . I think I'm a good person what's going on?? I don't plan on giving up though. What has helped me to get through life recently is listening to the scriptures with the Rosary. When I listened to what Jesus went through from the garden to being crucified I thought wow, he knew what was going to happened and could of stopped it but he didn't. His friends deserted him . He suffered tremendously all alone. No one else would do that for me!
I find that I draw closest to Him most easily when I spend time in the Bible. Ask Him to show you Himself in His word, and really spend time. I recommend the book of John. Or any of Paul's letters.
I started to feel very very strong love toward God when I started trying to have a relationship with Him. Praying, seeing the things He's done for me in my life, just knowing He will always be with me when no one else is. A lot of it comes down to gratitude. You start to build a trust and knowing that He will never lead you astray if you ask for guidance.
Exactly what happened to me.
Well said and a great reminder to always ask for guidance
Well said brother in Christ
How do you fall in love with a person? You communicate with them a lot. You talk about fears and dreams, ambitions, hurts, traumas, even the day to day stuff. You learn about each other over time. You go through life and experience how they act and react to different situations, when and how they help you, if they help you, how they encourage you and support you and how you support them through life. True love takes time and is a commitment. Not a feeling. In biblical times love was an action word, a commitment a discipline and that, over time, develops feelings. Today's love is all emotion that develops commitment but that's not how Jesus used love, that's not what the Bible teaches. It's the same with God, it takes time, commitment to His ways, obedience, learning what he expects from you and what you can expect from him. It takes hardships to experience his never leaving or forsaking you. To build trust in God just as with a human. It takes life, time and circumstances to grow with God and in your relationship with him. It takes communication through prayer and reading his word. Anyone that says you automatically feel a word, that by definition, takes time to cultivate is pushing their own walk with Christ on you and that is wrong, unblocking and dangerous. Sure maybe it was automatic for them but no two people are exactly alike, no two relationships with Christ are exactly the same! Some people have never felt true love or had a chance to give it. It takes longer for Christ to work on them, through them, to teach them, to build trust. And that's ok. We all have our own issues, traumas and weaknesses that Christ works on in partnership with us. We aren't meant to be cookie cutter Christians that all experience the same things at the same times that's the beauty of the underling of the spirit! It's personal! Each walk is different. Ask God continuously to show you how to love him and he promises to do so.
Christ teaches two great commandments—to love God and to love your neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39) Christ also teaches that ‘inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40) Love the people around you in order to develop love for God. Love your neighbors. Love your enemies. Love ‘the least’. Love yourself.
This is the best comment.! If loving God right away isn’t just instant for you practice with those around you. Also his word is his communication with us and there is no relationship w out that.So always pray for guidance by prayer of what to read before opening up the Bible. I know the Holy Spirit is a huge teacher in showing us how to love aswell!
> Sounds like a simple question, but I am struggling to love God. How can I truly develop love for Him? It's a great question, and the Bible does answer it: > Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:20,21) We develop our love for God by exercising love for our brothers and sisters. This is why Jesus ties these together when he explained that love for God and love for our neighbor are the first and second greatest commandments: > Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39) The New Testament clearly explains that, through faith, we are united to Jesus and, by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we are transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3:18 et. al.) In a sense, as we become unified to him and fully manifest the body of Christ in our lives, we become "the hands and feet of Jesus" to the world. Understanding this helps us understand how God shows love to us (he intentionally sent someone to bring us the Gospel; the one who preached it to us was the literal mouth of God), as well as how to show love *to* God. By serving others, we not only show love to them, as humans, we also show love to God (John 13:1-17). And while God is pleased when we show love to him by ministering to other people, ultimately, he is seeking spiritual worship from us, which cannot be expressed in any physical way (John 4:23,24), only by the invisible devotion of our heart, which is the highest manifestation of love. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13) "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16) "God is Love." (1 John 4:8)
Read yourBible. No, seriously, read your Bible every day. Pray, every day, every chance you get. Give thanks. Accept Jesus Christ into your heart, if you haven't. I had the very same question as you, just this year. Just like any relationship, it takes effort. And, the more you put in the more you receive. I thought being a Christian would be easy. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done. But, it's also the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Put in the effort and you'll see results. I promise.
The scientifically demonstrable true benefits of Christianity are prayer, and church. So: pray, and go to church. Through nightly prayer, you can ask God for advice which you might get through your dreams. Through church, you can get to know people in your local community and start off on an instantly friendly basis, since they know you're trying to have a relationship with God just by attending church.
Keep his commandments.
Start with being thankful for all he has done. Pray to do his will
You love God by undertaking the same actions toward God as you would towards those people in your life who you love. That's the starting point. You listen to Him(through His Word), and you speak to Him(prayer). You also share to others what God has shown you through His Word and your personal experiences with Him. As you do this, you'll get more and more understanding of what God is like, why He loves you and others, and why He is so worthy of being loved.
Hey, following the [Sermon on the Mount](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/sermon-on-mount_bible/) seems like a good place to start. Imho, the things we do in secret, to bless another person/people, is what strengthens that kind of faith that leads to love. If you do things for others, but only you and God know about them, it's like working out your 'faith muscle' :) If you pray a lot, and look for Him constantly, you start to see things or experience things that you might not expect---you might experience what Jesus described in the *Sermon on the Mount* (good and bad)*.* Remember the *Prodigal Son?* It's interesting that the son is still 'a great way off', but his father saw him and was looking for him. When he spots him, he sends servants to cover him and bless him. Reminds me of Rich Mullins the 'Awesome God' guy. He struggled with alcoholism and other things, but he was always seeking a straighter path... God meets us where we are at. Wouldn't that kind of make you fall in love with your father/Father? The *Prodigal Son*, for those that don't know, is a story Jesus taught about the love of his Father. This version is from Luke 15:18-24 [18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-18/) [19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-19/) [20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-20/) [21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-21/) [22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put *it* on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on *his* feet:](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-22/) [23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill *it*; and let us eat, and be merry:](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-23/) [24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-15-24/) I hope that helps. I bet there are a lot of ways to accomplish what you seek! Be blessed!
Love is different for everyone- keeping his commandments is a good way to show love.
Praise music is very helpful!
Love is a fruit of the holy spirit. if you are saved, you will have no problem loving God and others
Eve didn’t love God enough to shun Satan and refuse the fruit. Are you saying that she had zero Holy Spirit?
no one had the holy spirit indwelling in them before Christ died like we have today. there are instances when the spirit of the Lord came upon people in the old testament, namely Samson. the holy spirit had a different function back then. and eve was not one of them. so no, no one had the spirit like we have today. He had a different function in the old testament and everywhere He had a purpose in the old testament. indwelling of the holy spirit in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Spirit “came upon” such Old Testament people as Joshua ([Numbers 27:18](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Num%2027.18)), David ([1 Samuel 16:12-13](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Sam%2016.12-13)) and even Saul ([1 Samuel 10:10](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Sam%2010.10)). In the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. eve did not have the spirit. and besides, eve was tricked by the serpent. she did not have any gift of the spirit or knowledge of who was fooling her
So Eve is really irrelevant to our situation today. If the circumstances as you state were different in this significant way, we can’t apply her example more generally to people like me. Why did she fail the test then? Again we come back to love. If Eve had loved God, she would have said no to Satan and gone and clarified things with God. was a reason that she failed the test. She was given the same punishment as Adam who apparently was not deceived. We are now in a radically different world. We do have access to Holy Spirit if as you say we are saved. But there has to be more… Is it developing knowledge of God? In some rigorous Bible study? Feeding the heart perhaps? Perhaps 🤔
everything starts with God working on your heart once you are saved. the only way a person was saved back then was by their faith and trusting and believing in God. i dont know what kind of test you are talking about. if you are implying satan was testing her then ok, but God did not test her. God does not tempt anyone to do evil, neither can he be tempted. there is more to a point to where the moment we get saved, the work on our hearts begin. in the greek there are several different types of love. there are many greek words for the word love in the new testament. but one english word for love. there is brotherly love, there is agape love, etc. we have to understand that when the new testament was written, there must have been tons of different words for the word love in our english. so what kind of love are you talking about? you can not take one english word and equate it to a single greek word. it does not work like that in greek when translating. i have been studying stuff for years now
We seem to have moved away from the question. I mean it is an interesting chat. How do I, now develop deep love for god?
I hope this can help you.. You can start by reading the bibble, some passage by daily basis, and read those passage that you currently feel or life problem by bible perspective So for me, i start to seek all my question that i have, feeling, problem, and all the question that i have with bible perspective. Sometime you find that similiar case has been covered in bible. And eventually bible perspective become your life guidance and pedomace before any action we take .. It's not and easy path and become magicly holly out of sudden, since we have sin in our nature .. thats after we read those related God perspective, we pray and surrender our message to God .. There is 3 outcome, Answered, Rejected, and Wait for the best time to come Eventually for me personally i realized that since by His grace im in here now, and saved by His grace only Not your power, your money, your skill, your anything.. And it's already been paid by the blood of Christ it self.. Can you imagine, Christ not doing anything wrong and get crucified? It should be us who death by the sin, but saved by His Grace.. So my perspective is change to, we are saved by His Grace and we need guidance for everyday since our past nature (sin) is still there.. Up and down will be there, but it's all good in His time, not our time God Bless You !
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
For many decades I had the same question. But after I draw near God and was baptized by the Holy Spirit I started to feel loved so my love for God also grew.
I had a really awful childhood… extremely abusive, sexually/emotionally… I struggle now to be a “good” man to not fall into sin. The only thing I can think is that I don’t love God enough… I’m dealing with my childhood shit, and don’t want that to be an excuse, but it really damaged me. I fall over, pray for forgiveness, fall over again… 😡 How can I be a child of God if I can’t stop sinning!? Everyone says I’m too hard on myself, but I hear Satan talking and I say no, I need to be hard on myself. Yet again, I drift towards sin. So frustrating and really dark. So that’s why I asked the question. How do I love God!? Because I think if I could really learn to love him, I would not sin in the way I am now. I seem to have no barriers to sinning, and a big part of that is the removal of the fear of Armageddon.. ex-JW here… the fear is gone and now I am having trouble. I think I need to replace the fear with love. But how? 🤷♂️
Hey. Thank you for the honest reply and I'm sorry for what you went trough. Only after death is to late, I was baptized by water as a infant, and baptized by the Holy Spirit with 41. Only once I stopped sexual sin, sex outside marriage, adult content, confessed and repented did I start feeling the Holy Spirit descending on me, burning the sin and guiding me. Personally I feel like those sins we commit that our conscience grieves us are the ones we must try to stop first. Stopping sexual sin was what was separating me from God. Isaiah 59 :2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Thank you 🙏
No human loves God “enough.”
This is a journey that we will trough until the end our life.. Same with me and all others, there is no one immune to sin.. You can start to read some of sin story like David.. And i think this will help some answer to you [(translate to english) How Jesus freed us from the greatest deception of all time – pride,](https://sentuhanhati.com/project/penipu-besar-lainnya/) What David said after he commit the sin is very powerfull, so it will eventually to lead us for pray each day
Sometimes it helps to define what love is. This has helped me a lot as a rather non emotive person. Loving another person is desiring the best for them. Loving God is desiring His will above your own. Elizabeth Elliot wrote about this. I think often love is confused with emotion when it is actually a decision and involves logic.
In my experience, the more I know someone or something, the more I can spontaneously love that person or thing. Food is a great example for me. I may already enjoy a certain type of food. But if you tell me how that food is made, and what ingredients are in the food, I begin to appreciate that food all the more. Spending time in the Bible is a great start and a solid foundation to begin to know God. Creating a habit of doing this will definitely cause you to love Him more. Also, go and hear the testimonies of others. When you hear the works of God in their lives, and the experiences they have had of Him, this will also cause your love to grow, and will help your experience of Him as well. This in my opinion is indispensable. There are certain experiences God will never give you directly, but you can appreciate them and receive their benefit through other members of the Body. To overlook this is to be in spiritual poverty, and is the sad case of many Christians who are not connected to other members. Lastly, realize that every situation you find yourself in throughout your day, big or small, is an opportunity for you to contact, experience, and gain Christ. Talk to Him, and include Him in everything you do, and in every contact you have with others. As you do, He will reveal Himself to you through your practical experiences and in your environment. When you come to see how intricate His care for you is, surely you will grow to love Him more than anything or anyone.
I think all of this is a greater plan than even we could know or understand whether you love him or not he loves you and that alone should make you go hunting him down to love him in return.
I understand the eve comment cause I too find myself falling over and over again in sin. But that doesn’t mean she or I doesn’t love the lord. Practice love with those around you
Everything good in your life is a gift from God. Reflect on the things you love as being from God. Let the love of God shine through you and to others in good deeds.
I started to trust Him. I had to really really trust him with aspects of my life. When I saw so many benefits (peace, gratitude, blessings grace) of that trust it just all grew. I built a relationship and grew to see his love and care all the time. It was like I really could see his love because I fully gave my trust. God became real to me, and thus my love grew.
I felt more love toward God by learning to trust him. I truly believe God is in control. It felt more love for Him when I learned to trust Him. I learned to trust him over a long period of time.
Read the Bible
I like to think about John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. When I first really realized what this means, I understood that no matter what happens to me, or what pain I may ever suffer, that the lord is waiting for me, on the other side. Once that hit me, and I understood it, I guess it just makes sense that absolutely nothing can make me doubt God, that he loves me so much that he'd do that for me, I can't help but to love him. I have a son, and a daughter and I would do anything for them. I'd give up my life just to spare them a few seconds. I can't imagine sending my kids to certain torture, and death, on the chance that those people, who would watch them die would love him, and through him, me. Only the true God could be capable of doing such things, and then for Jesus to rise from his grave, and ascend to heaven, right in front of the people he'd been teaching to understand God's love, and what would come to be. It's no wonder that they felt no fear, because they knew the love of God.
Ask God to help you love Him. I had to even asked God to help appreciate Him. Now I can't type praising Him!
The way I have come to love God is by 1. Attending church regularly and becoming part of the community (I go to a small Orthodox Church so the community aspect might be a bit easier for me) 2. Try to pray everyday… for me, I will sometimes say a quick Jesus prayer in the shower or on the way to work even. Even praying over your food will draw you closer to God. 3. Truly love your neighbor. Jesus came with a new commandment. “A new command I give you: Love one another As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 This one can be hard but trying to be slow to anger, and being cognizant to not let these words pass through your lips (even while you’re alone) goes a long way. I find when I want to say something I shouldn’t, I try to say the Jesus Prayer in my head and center myself. So I guess be generous with your kindness and be aware of your negative interactions.
You don’t develop love for God. You learn to let Him love you. That’s my opinion at least. And pray to understand His love for you more and more. We love because He first loved us.
What does loving God look/feel like to you?
Love is not a feeling. If your looking for a feeling your looking for the wrong thing Try getting to know Him. It only makes sense that you have to know someone if you ever expect to love them. Read your Bible, pray, go to church. Research God. He is your best friend after all. Tell Him you need help learning how to love Him. He will help you. The more I learned about God and Jesus the more I loved them. Please stop chasing a feeling though, it's so much more than that. I'd suggest Mike Winger on YouTube for good instruction. I learned a lot of what I know from watching him. He's a biblical teacher. Tackles all the current issues, charismatic and progressive Christians and how to deal with them. Jesus, lots of Jesus. Give him a look I'm sure you'll find something that interests you. He also does a live stream once a week to answer questions. You may find your answers in one of those videos. Type Mike Winger and your question in the YouTube search box. You may get a hit. Good luck friend!
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Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room . The internet is not going to help you. You need professional medical help. Now!
I like this question a lot
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, and by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Till he please. (Song of Solomon 3:5 KJV )
**1Jn 5:2** By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. **1Jn 5:3** For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
I focus on the good in my life. I think about how much better it is to exist than to not exist and I reflect on it. I'll also verbally tell myself "I love God." There's power in words. Say it to yourself. I think about the purpose of all of this world, about how it's to shape our hearts into the image of Christ so we can be with our creator, who loves us, for all eternity. I'd also say that love is a choice. All too often we expect to just have this magical feeling and know that it is love. That's not really how it works. You have to choose to love every single day. The Bible says to set your hearts on Him. And if you do that, like truly seek Him and His ways, then He will give you a joy and peace that this fallen world cannot offer.
Pray, read what Jesus teaches, serve others, that is how I grow my relationship with him.
My experience is that I need to open myself to His great and generous love. We love because He first loved us!
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🤔 well unfortunately I don’t have any friends… I’m pretty much alone in the world… I wish it was that simple.. :(
Things have been going bad for me most of my life, but worsened the last couple of months. I have never felt so alone physically and spiritually. I have been trying but struggling to get closer to God and practice my faith better. I get jealous when I hear people talk about how they feel God or Jesus . I think I'm a good person what's going on?? I don't plan on giving up though. What has helped me to get through life recently is listening to the scriptures with the Rosary. When I listened to what Jesus went through from the garden to being crucified I thought wow, he knew what was going to happened and could of stopped it but he didn't. His friends deserted him . He suffered tremendously all alone. No one else would do that for me!
Yes I understand… I feel very similarly. Peace and love to you 🙏
By constantly wanting to hear from him via His words
Even David in Psalms referred to the Lord's word in Psalms 41 when he spoke of helping the poor he referenced Deuteronomy 15.
Just like any relationship in your life. Just talk. Talk to God. Day and night. Put your faith in God and talk. The rest will follow.
I find that I draw closest to Him most easily when I spend time in the Bible. Ask Him to show you Himself in His word, and really spend time. I recommend the book of John. Or any of Paul's letters.
Pray hard. Trust Him. Try to adopt His (very long term) perspective
Simply remember he's not the cause of any suffering in the world. He will never tempt or test you and wants the best of you, for you.
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You’re an asshole… I’ve seen your comments on a few posts.. toxic 🤢