#0 - A Gap Paid
Once again, I was divinely and beautifully interrupted as of this morning. I WAS INTERRUPTED BY LOVE-LOL!!! I was slated to write about The Spirit of Council, however I was encouraged by Holy Spirit to take a break from writing the series and to research Love seeing as it is Valentine’s Day. I don’t particularly know what this blog has in store for us but I have no doubt that Holy Spirit is driving it. For those of you that may not have a “Valentine” and/or think, “Ugh…who cares…it’s Valentine’s Day…I think Holy Spirit is about to minister to your heart…especially…so stay tuned, know that you’re never alone; God is always with you, and that Jesus = Hope. Romans 15:13 (NIV): "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" and Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".
I could easily start off by describing what I personally woke up to this morning, but it’s not the right time yet because my immediate focus is on what Holy Spirit is telling me right here…right now…in this perfectly, beautiful, divine message (albeit Valentine) of love itself. Sounds like the perfect Valentine, does it not?! I am always surprised by God’s mystery. Holy Spirit has brought me two specific questions to my mind this morning…with the pivotal point that, “God is Love.”.
What is the oldest version of the Christian Bible?
How many times does the word “love” appear in it?”
So I went to “the Googles” for answers because if there is anything you should know about when I write my blogs…I am ALWAYS learning WITH YOU!!!:
Codex Sinaiticus - 4th Century - Written in Greek!
In that version of The Bible, the word “Love” is “Agape” (noun/person-place-thing) and “Agapao” (verb/action). “The Googles” says, “Based on scholarly analysis of the New Testament portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, the Greek noun agape (ἀγάπη) and its various inflected forms appear over 100 times, with specific counts often cited around 115–116 times in the New Testament.
New Testament Frequency: The noun agape is used roughly 116 times in the Greek New Testament (which is fully contained in Codex Sinaiticus), with the highest concentration in 1 John, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians.
Verb Form: The verb form, agapaō (ἀγαπάω), which is also considered part of the agape family, appears an additional 142 times in the New Testament.
Old Testament/Septuagint: Codex Sinaiticus also contains parts of the Septuagint (Old Testament). The noun agape and its variants appear over 200 times in the Septuagint, particularly in the Psalms, meaning the total count within the entire Codex is significantly higher than just the New Testament count.
Note: As Codex Sinaiticus is a 4th-century manuscript, the exact, definitive count can vary slightly depending on whether one is counting only the original hand or including the numerous corrections made by later scribes.”
I had no idea about any of this until being prompted by Holy Spirit to research it. Without researching further I find the following interesting:
The word “Gap” (an unfilled space or interval) is in the middle of the word and is bridged over by an “A” and an “E”. The word “Agape” begins with an “A” and means love. The word “Love” Biblically means “God” (going back to God is Love) and ends with an “E”. The letter “E” is also the only letter that both the words share together…which is a cute way of binding them from a spelling perspective since they are already bound by definition perspective.
The word “Agape” (unconditional love)...was written the FIRST version of the Christian Bible which was in Greek…sounds like ALPHA. The translated versions of the Christian Bible as we know it today in English gives us the word “Love”; according to “the Googles”: “there is no precise global statistic on the exact percentage of the population that recognizes the English word "love," it is considered one of the most widely understood English words worldwide due to its saturation in pop culture, media, and its role as a core emotion.” Sounds like a large portion of the world understands the modern day word for “love”...sounds like Omega because there is a full circled and universal understanding of the word “Love”. God is Love AND the beginning and the end. No coincidences. And for the record, “the Googles” states, “The word "love" appears between 310 and over 800 times in the Bible, depending on the translation and whether word variants (loved, loving) are included. The King James Version typically lists "love" around 310–311 times, while the New International Version and others often exceed 500–600 mentions.”
My favorite Holy Spirit revelation today…A-GAP-E…(again…meaning love) is actually pronounced “uh-GAH-pay”. Like the thought above, with the word pieced apart…the word “GAP” is still in the middle and non coincidentally when it is pronounced correctly it sounds like “A-Gap-Pay”. Taking it past tense to “it is i finished”...the moment WE KNOW that Jesus died on the cross in John 19:28-30 (NIV), “28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” A GAP WAS PAID!!! Jesus paid the price for ALL OF OUR SINS…SO THAT WE COULD HAVE DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND WALK IN AND WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT!!! Sacrifice is AGAPE…unconditional love.
I personally cannot numerically justify fitting this blog in the midst of a series (7-Sational) that I was supposed to be writing about today…but Holy Spirit can. Seeing as I was divinely interrupted…there is no coincidence that as I am being led by Holy Spirit today to remind everyone that unconditional love is sacrifice; our debts were paid by Jesus to be brought down to “0” an in turn we were GIVEN the opportunity to use our free will to have a direct relationship with God. Jesus bridged the gap to God (and now that I am thinking about it…that “E” from the words “Love” and “Agape” are also shared with the name “Jesus” and if we want to pull on this string a bit more…”E” as in “El” one of the names of God. Himself.)
Here’s the kicker…I didn’t even research Merriam Webster's Definition of Love and yet here we are right now…no coincidences: 1: wide open : gaping. 2: being in a state of wonder. 3: love feast 4: love sense.
So if you’re down in the dumps about not having a Valentine, I encourage you to remember what Agape really is…a wondrous gap of love filled by Jesus. I also want to share a funny meme from @PrayerRoom on Facebook this morning, “If you don’t receive any letters this February 14th, don’t worry, Apostle Paul left several for you to read.” LOL! The Apostle Paul lived his life…SINGLE!!! We already have the ultimate Valentine…Agape isn’t just any love…it’s UNCONDITIONAL SACRIFICIAL LOVE and if your faith and love are in Jesus…you’ll feel love every single moment here and beyond…not just one day out of a numerical human made year. If you are struggling today with having no closure in a situation, I am going to share another meme with you that I read this morning on Facebook from @Sanctified-ish (which I recommend following because that ministry is on fire for The Lord), “Some losses don’t come with closure…but God still meets us with peace.” I would add “regardless” on the end of that because His love is agape…unconditional…regardless if we get closure or not…He GIVES us peace. From a perspective…peace is another Valentine GIVEN to us!!!
So is it nice to be recognized by those we love on Valentine’s day? Absolutely. Is it necessary? No. MGST and I often leave “sticky note love letters” to each other (in fact I know we both stash them away in safe places for sentimental value) and serve/sacrifice for each other each day. Today may be culturally recognized as “the day of love” (even though the day of love to me is when Jesus died). And even though I believe in “Kingdom Over Culture”...I enjoy celebrating love as a whole!!! For me, today’s celebration of love began by waking up to Lego flowers all built for me (I’ve been wanting to collect them ALL FOR SO LONG) , imported Icelandic chocolate (which I have never tried), candy, Burt’s Honey lip balm, and last night I got cheese (literally my favorite food) soaked in red wine. Tonight after he gets off duty, we will be going out to dinner dressed in clothes we picked out for each other at Goodwill…which should be so interesting! LOL!!! I love you babe, you’re the best thing I found on the internet and I am so grateful for you!!! ;) Happy Valentines Day, you gorgeous man!!! <3
As all of this is amazing…at the end of the day…MGST and I know what love truly is (God) and one day…I will write about the MIRACLE of how God brought us together and how our relationship began. God’s MIRACLES are one of my favorite things to share about afterall!!! You are officially encouraged and challenged to LIVE WALKING LOVE OUT THE WAY WE ARE CALLED TO…HOLY…SET APART…DIFFERENT…and watch your life change.
If you choose not to celebrate love on this day…that’s OKAY!!! There is NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!!! But I will say…a little something can go a long way. It doesn’t even need to be romantic. Maybe you’re called to give words of encouragement through a text message to a friend you haven’t spoken with for awhile. Maybe you’re called to take an elderly person some flowers. Maybe you’re not meant to reach out to anyone but rather reach inwards to find out what your love language is so that you can eventually share it with the world (https://5lovelanguages.com). Maybe you’re called to get into the word of God and get to know him to deepen your relationship WITH HIM. Maybe you’re called to spend the day in worship!!! Whatever you do today…make sure you’re called by Holy Spirit to do it…may the soft spoken voice of love itself be upon you this day. As I end this blog, I want to give you one last resource on love…followed by a personal thought on love because I adore C.S. Lewis: https://www.cslewis.com/four-types-of-love. Towards the end of this short yet educational read on love Zach Kincaid writes, “If we think that perhaps love is not worth the sorrow and pain, then we are more pagan than Christian. Though the fall has invited such selfishness to linger heavy in our culture, ours is the Gospel charge – to go to the nth degree to love those who are broken, not for some vague humanitarian effort, but to make disciples of all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Let us ask God to awaken such an abandoned and reckless love to come alive in us.”
Nicky Gumbel from The Alpha Course (https://www.alpha.org) literally posted on Facebook this morning (Valentine’s Day 2/14/26) shared this: “St. Valentine was imprisoned, beheaded, and buried on 14 Feb. 269 AD for helping persecuted Christians & marrying Christian couples! While in prison he prayed for his jailer’s daughter & her blindness was healed. On the day of his execution, he left her a note signed, “Your Valentine.”.” Sounds like Agape to me when we can love our enemies. “I’ve seen memes that say “Jesus treated Judas so well that NONE of the disciples knew he was the one who betrayed Jesus. That is what loving your enemy truly looks like.” and “The test of loving like Christ is not loving Jesus...it’s loving Judas.” If you are struggling in a difficult relationship (friend, romantic, acquaintance, etc.), you are being challenged today to do ONE nice thing for them today…don’t let the enemy’s darkness interfere with the light…be brave…hold your sword (the word of God) high…reach out…love them because YOU ARE AGAPE LOVED BY GOD…LOVE INCARNATE. Love is one of God’s MANY MIRACLES that we should never take for granted…so seize the opportunities to love today. Do yourself a favor and click on the following link to read the definition of sacrifice and in your mind…compare and contrast it to your definition of love…ask yourself are you loving in a holy way by means of sacrifice?: Merriam Webster's Definition of Sacrifice.
You are loved by me and above all else…God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!!! <3 XOXOX <3
Songs Of The Week:
AND
Jesus We Love You Reprise by Bethel Music, Hannah McClure, Paul McClure
Also…do yourself a favor…sign up to “Knuckleheads for Jesus”…Rev./Pastor Jesus’s message this week is LITERALLY MY FAVORITE!!! The message this week is definitely for EVERYONE but it definitely has spiritual nourishment for those that are struggling. There are messages that come out EACH WEEK and Rev./Pastor Jesus is building biblical community, so sign up today…you got nothing to miss out on other than an opportunity to build relationships in biblical community…something we are CALLED to do…we aren’t called to miss out…so don’t allow yourself to miss out!!! Knuckleheads For Jesus.
For love, for relationships, for sacrifice, for the freedom to have a direct and loving relationship with Abba, for being redeemed from the world’s definition of love, for feeling loved, for knowing true agape love in every part of my ecosystem, for understanding God IS love, for the ability to share that God IS love with others, for God giving us Jesus to show us what love truly is in the first place with his sacrifice, for love being the beginning and the end, for revealing another miracle through St. Valentine, for the strength to love our enemies, for divine interruptions and for the love that MGST and I share…I am…
#Satisfied
