Love NEVER fails!

When my wife and I were in the US recently we were amazed by how many people we met who were either divorced and single or remarried.  This was not a judgment of a person, rather an observation which alarmed us.

We were both brought up to believe that married was “until death doth part!”  We belonged in a church where people were excommunicated or at least punished if their marriage failed.  I don’t believe in either, nor do I believe that a person should live in condemnation or be judged if they choose to separate or divorce.

I do believe that many people, especially Christians, go into a relationship with a lack of knowledge about love.  In fact, I would go as far to say that most people don’t understand love!

The side effects of this lack of knowledge are devastating.  It does not just cause emotional trauma and lifelong issue associated with the loss of love, it causes:

• loss of business,
• loss of finances,
• loss of productivity,
• loss of creativity,
• low self-worth,
• sickness,
• eating disorders,
• even death to name a few!

The effect a divorce has on children is so massive we cannot comprehend it.

Here are some startling facts:

According to Nationmaster.com, the USA has the highest annual divorce rate in the world – 495 per 100,000 people, UK is #4, New Zealand is #6, Australia is #7 and Canada is #8!!  USA is twice as high as Australia.  Italy comes in at #32 with 27 people per 100,000 … that’s one twentieth of that of the USA!!  Want the harsh reality … that is 1,584,000 divorces per year in the USA alone! WOW!!

Here is another sad fact:

One in every two children now goes to bed in the USA without a father to tuck them in! The effects of a child not knowing a father’s presence and influence is horrific … maybe that’s an article for another time.

No wonder the bible says that “My people perish because of the lack of knowledge.”

We MUST start learning, living and teaching people about love.  I’m not speaking about the emotion of love but rather the God type of love or ‘Agape’ … unconditional love.

Love is the most powerful unseen force known to man.

You can have everything else in the world but if you don’t have love in your heart you are empty, lonely and will experience hell on earth!  If you have unconditional love, no matter what else you lack, you will feel on top of the world … heaven on earth.

The opposite of unconditional love is not hate but rather selfishness.  Love says “How can I bless you?” when selfishness says “How can I get for me?”

Love is a decision not an emotion.

To decide comes for the Latin root of ‘de’ and ‘cide’ which means to cut off – so a decision means to cut off all other possibilities.

Imagine the effect on a relationship if, when people went into it, they both cut off all other possibilities.  That means when the going got tough they knew that there was no other option other then make it work.

• What if you never quit on the other person?
• What if you put their needs before yours?
• What if you only saw the best in them at all times?
• What if you never kept score of the times they mess up?
• What if you never questioned their intent?
• What if you never got mad at them because you loved them unconditionally?
• What if you never looked back but only looked forward to the perfect outcome?
• What if you understood love and lived it each day?

The most potent characteristic of God is that He is love, love is God’s nature.

Do this … Just for today, regardless of what you are going through or how angry people make you feel, give everyone you meet a loving compliment (or smile or wave).  If you can’t think of what to say just say, “Did you know that God loves you?”  Let me know what happens!

Oh! … and by the way … Did you know that I love you?  And God loves you.

“Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire this love – make it your aim, your great quest …” (1 Corinthians 14:1)

“What is the greatest power known to man?”

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog on The Greatest Secret … in fact, those who have attended our “My Abundant Life” seminars or purchased the CD series will know the answer … Love!

Recently Rhonda Byrne (producer of The Secret) released a book called “The Power.” Guess what it is all about?!?

You might be saying, “How can love be the greatest power? Is it greater than faith?”  Absolutely … let me show you.  Read and meditate on the following passage:

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

“If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” (The Message Bible – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

I’m not speaking of the emotion of love, but rather the decision and lifestyle of love.  Yes, love is a decision. Often two people will ‘fall’ in love but never make the decision to love, they get married and wonder why they fight constantly, then divorce.  They never made the decision to love each other!  A decision means to cut off all other possibilities!

The Greek word ‘agape’ in the bible is translated as ‘love’; however the true meaning is ‘the God kind of love.’

We read on from the above scripture and we get a better understanding of agape love:

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. (The Message Bible – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

I don’t know about you, but as I read this I check myself off against the list and I find myself saying “God teach me how to love like you love!”  In fact, this is the only commandment that Jesus gave in the new testament:  “But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you;” Matthew 5:44

Put the same love passage in 1 Corinthians 13 from another rendition and in first person and it is even more impactful:

My love endures long and I am patient and kind;

I’m never envious nor boil over with jealousy; I’m not boastful or have a high opinion of myself.

I am not arrogant and inflated with pride;

I am not rude and I don’t act unfairly.

God’s love in me does not insist on my own rights or my own way;

I am not self-seeking;

I am not touchy or fretful or resentful;

I take no account of the evil done to me, I pay no attention to a suffered wrong.

I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoice when right and truth prevail.

I bear up under anything and everything that comes, I’m ever ready to believe the best of every person, my hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and I endure everything without weakening.

My love never fails, never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end.

Did you know that there is no fear in love … the bible says that “Perfect love (agape) casts out ALL fear.” (1 John 4:18)

If you have fear in your life you have to ask the question, “What or who do I not love?” A fear can be in the form of jealousy, hatred, revenge, anger, disease, poverty, lack, guilt, depression, competition for what someone else has, afraid of the future etc.

Love activates faith! (Galatians 5:6)  Faith without love is nothing more than the sound of a creaking gate, a noise that fades away to nothing.  “Now faith, hope and love abide in us; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

We cannot know agape love with knowing God, because God is love (1 John 4:8).  Maybe one day we should look at the character of God as most people have a warped and incorrect understanding.

Please feel free to comment below and share your insights.

You Can Learn The Secret Of How I Made Over $1mil In 1 Day!

Will you do it, or will you take the easy path?

Many people have asked me over the years what was the one thing I did which had the greatest impact on my finances.  I have told every person who has asked me.  The most amazing thing is, very few people have done what I said!!

The important question is, “Will you?”

Just in case you don’t know my story (and I won’t share it all here);

15 years ago I was flat broke!  I was married with 4 children under 10 years old, unemployed, uneducated (I didn’t go to college or learn a trade), massively in debt, about to be evicted from our rental home, driving around in an unregistered car, so shy I hated speaking to people even on the phone and didn’t have enough money to buy food for my family.  (Yes, I have a book coming out soon sharing the whole story)

I felt defeated, useless and so low! So low that I could walk under a snake with my umbrella up and not scratch its belly!  Now that’s low!!  People sometimes say that they are at the bottom of the barrel financially … well, I could look up and see the bottom of the barrel!!!

Seven years on from that day I had made over $1 million in a year, and in just another 4 years I made over $1.2 million dollars in one day! (To give you some perspective, it would take a person earning the average income in the US over 34 years to make that much money.)

I don’t share this with you to boast, I know that it was not in my power that I created the wealth, it wasn’t possible for me to do it all.   I share it with you to inspire and empower you, regardless of your situation you can learn and do what I did.

I created a ‘Future Budget’!

Most people hate budgets … including me!  They can be very depressing and they are in fact in opposition to creation.  With a normal budget, you are working out your income and then trying to squeeze your life into it!  That’s dumb!

Why not work out how you want your life to be and then expand your income to meet it?

• Decide what home or homes you really want to live in and figure out how much per month that will cost;
• Decide what cars you want to drive and figure out how much per month that will cost;
• Decide where you want to travel, how much you want to have in investments, how much you want to give away, what ministries and missions you would like to support or start, what jewellery and clothing you want to wear, what hobbies you want to pursue and so on … and figure out how much each one will cost!

Add all this up and you will know how much money you need to earn to live the lifestyle you desire to live. (If you would like a worksheet or spreadsheet to help fill out and calculate this leave me a comment below)

This is much more than just a nice exercise in dreaming; it actually starts the path of changing your mental programming from poverty to abundance which I have mentioned in Parts 1-5 of “Where Does Money Come From?”  The question is, “Will you do it?”

Part 1 – The Secret To Wealth: Where Does Money Come From?

Part 2 – Six Symptoms That Expose Fear of Poverty

Part 3 – Does God Want You To Be Poor, Sick and Broke?

Part 4 – Are You Worth More Than 9 cents Per Day??

Part 5 – From $16.2 million To Living On Food Stamp In 12 Month