"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

- 1 Cor 13:1-3

For the unbeliever, a verse of Scripture may or may not give them comfort.

But, for the Believer, the word of God is life itself.

I have no comfort to offer apart from that which comes from the Lord, for I know of no other Comforter.

Hear what the word of the Lord says, and be comforted:

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

For momentarily light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

While we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

DJC49 wrote:
Dear *Love* --
Please kindly notice that in my post of [URL=http://www.sermonaudio.com/survey_details.asp?currPage=2&VoteID=ww42303173933&sortby=newfirst#comments]]]12/15/08 2:05 PM[/URL] (to which you have responded here), that I use the word "forces" as a verb and NOT as a noun as in: "The force be with you!"
[*John UK* attempted to associate that Star Wars verbiage with my post. I assume he did so in jest.]
So ...... Kindly reread my post for clarification and perhaps for your edification.

I stand corrected!

DJC49 wrote:
A) So ...... Kindly reread my post for clarification and perhaps for your edification.

B) "The hardness of God is softer than the kindness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation."

A) I will re-read your post - later.

B) Hadn't heard that C.S. Lewis quote, but it is sooooooooo true. Love it.

DJC49 wrote:
But God "forces" his own to love Him in a powerful, irresistable, "Kingdom of God" way; a way that ONLY God can do.
. .the truth of our utterly sinful (and hopeless) condition; the truth of justice needing to be satisfied; the truth of the LOVE that God has for his own. And ALL this truth is wrapped up and converges at the Cross.

God IS love, and when one meets the Saviour, His love is shed abroad in the heart of the redeemed one. Love emanates (flows) from God.

It is mercy and truth combined having paid the price of redemption on the Cross.

When one meets the Saviour, the result is reconciliation with a Holy God Who has cleansed the sinner.

Remember the woman at the well with whom Jesus interacted? She ran into the city and proclaimed that she had met a man who told her all that she had done. She was proclaiming Jesus the Messiah - not her sins.

Forget her sins. As far as the east is from the west, they have been cast into the sea.

And, so have they all been cast into the sea, for those who believe and receive His forgiveness.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God: and every one who loves is born of God and knows God.

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through HIm.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propititation for our sins.