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Greater Love Has No Man Than This

"Greater love has no man than this than to lay down one's life for his friend" (John 15:13).

Dear Loved ones of the Lord. Oh, how my heart longs to share this message with you. It is a great day and a great privilege to share with you on this blessed title pertaining to His words.

When I read His words, it always reminds me that God's love is greater than our own. We cannot comprehend the measure of love that the Father has for each of us. He has shown it through the work of His Son Jesus our Savior. I know for some that this is hard to take in because in this generation many of us would say, "let them rot in jail, they deserve it for what they did to me or to someone I love" It is just so natural for any one of us who have been hurt to go through the same anger feelings, same emotions when someone hurts us. It is natural for us to put up a defense, a response, to hurt the other person back or to take vengeance because it will somewhat take some pain away from what they did to us.

I would like to share with you on this subject concerning the lesson that the Lord has taught me on this title. As many of you know that I have not been ashamed or shy to share with you any of the situations that God has led me through because I know that it can probably help many of you or many of you can relate to the same situation in which we didn't understand but yet we trust and believe that God is involved in each incident. But this incident that He has led me through that I am about to share with you concerns a situation that is very dear to my heart and how that through the pain of the situation I learned how deep the love of the Father is for us, how deep the depth of the love that Jesus has for each one of us.

Many things and many trials have happened to me ever since I became a Born-Again Christian. One of the trials that I had to face was my first marriage. It is one of the hardest things that I have share because it is an incident that I have kept very close to my heart, but I want to share it with you because I know it will bless you as the Father uses it to bless me and to teach me a great lesson of His love and His words "Greater Love has no man than this, than one to lay down his live for his friend" (John 15:13). I can't share with you from any other story. I can only share with you my side of the story and what God taught me out of the incident. During this time, I have been married now almost 13 years. As I can remember we seemed to have a wonderful and decent marriage. It was a very memorable moment when we met and we didn't have much, but we worked our way up . As I remember, we didn't have a perfect marriage, we loved each other as best as we knew how. We hand two wonderful children together. There were disagreements at times, fights at times, and there were selfish moments on both of us. There were problems concerning finances, jealousy, anger, fears and many more. Through all the trials we went through in our marriage, we know that we do love one another and at that time my then husband was all I had and all I wanted. I didn't know anything else. Whatever was said or done I went along with and agreed because that was so.

That was the life that I live up until the moment when God came into my life in July of 2002. When God came into my life, He was showing and revealing to me His love. It was so strong and overwhelming that, that was all that I could express was the Lord's love for me. unbeknownst to me when I was sharing God's love with everyone it created and boiled jealousy and anger in my husband which I was not prepared for. The conflict started very soon after the Lord had come into my life in July of 2002. I didn't understand why all this was happening all I knew was that I wanted to love my husband and everyone I knew with this great love of God and share with people what God did for me. The more I increase in the knowledge of God the more intense the tension got. The more I seek God the farther my husband was drawn away from the family. This conflict went on for about five years and it increase each year. With each passing years he threaten divorce. The intensity of the conflict at this time was getting stronger near the end of 2006. There were signs of danger so that is when the Lord separated us, my husband left December of 2006 and after a short period of time he give me an ultimatum that if I didn't forsake what I was doing for God than he would not come home. At the time, I didn't understand why all this was going on. I just share with him that there is nothing wrong with me telling people about Jesus Christ, about the love of God. and that we just don't give up on God or our faith just like that. It is like trying to deny your birth parent, you can't deny that you belong to God, because once you belong to God everything of you represent Him because He is your Father.

Jesus said to him, " Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'show us the Father'? "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works." John 14:9-10.

I share those word with my husband at the time of the conversation. I share with him that I pray that he would come home and work things out but for me to deny God-that was impossible. It is like asking me to put a duck suit over me and ask me to tell everyone that I am a duck but yet inside of that suit I am who I am, a Born-Again Christian. We can't change who God creates us to be. So I made my choice that day. That was one of the times that I knew that God's love and strength was so strong in my life because He showed me how to stand firm in my faith in all circumstances. I want to share this with each of you not to boast or downcast anyone, because I am sharing with you a subject that is very sensitive and dear to my heart concerning someone I loved during this time of my life. As hard as it is for me to share this I know that it would bring some of us to another level of understanding that this happened because of the Spirit that God puts in us. The persecution comes because we now belong to Christ. I also share with one other intention that it would help someone out there that as a Christian we will face many trials, tribulations and persecutions, but know this for certain, That the Lord is there to help and deliver us through each one.

Persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Icnium, At Lystra-what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.(2 Timothy 3:11-12)

As all this happened, every emotion ran through my mind. Every hurt, every pain, every angry word, and every way of vengeance ran through my mind. I truly didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what to feel. It was so overwhelming. I remember asking God, "God What should I feel, Should I be angry" It is natural with everyone of us to want to hate the person, you want to hurt them, because of what they did. I can easily say that if the opportunity was there I could have given someone a black eye because of the anger that rises within you that is what you want to do. But In that moment of hurt, pain, and confusion is when Jesus met me in the mist of my fire. I remember the Lord whisper to me, that is exactly what the enemy's purpose is. his purpose is to use a weapon, anything or anyone that would hurt you the most and pierce you the deepest so that he may try to put back in you anger, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, and all his unkind works. But through those times of intense trial, Jesus met me in the fire and told me that I must sustain my peace, and I must let His love press those feelings down, and let His love reign in my heart and let not the enemy steal the love, joy, and peace that is within me that He has given me and I must forgive my husband and all those who hurt me and always remember that they are vessels used by the enemy to try to hurt me in the flesh. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds'' (2 Cor 10:4). He reminded me that my battle is not in the flesh but in the spirit and I must remember that Jesus died also for him and to forgive him and never cease praying for him during his time of trials. As Jesus said when He was crucified "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). I also want to pray for all of you out there that are going through the same thing. It took a while for me to share this with you because this one truly did hurt. I am very glad that He lead me through this one also. I pray with every bit of my heart for every family, husband, and wife. As we approach a busy season in our lives soon again. I pray that you would keep Jesus and His love with you. Let it reside in your heart and build it a foundation made out of solid stone that His love may not be moved from the center of your heart and that nothing will come against it for you and the loved ones that God puts around us. As He taught me through this lesson, I learned to lay down my life. I learn how to lay down all my anger, hatred, bitterness, and all the emotions that ran through my mind and forgive what was done to me. I pray that each of you may also seek God to help you in the same sense. Sometimes things may happen immediately, but for some it may take some time. In whatever situation, I pray that the Lord has spoken to many of you today. We all need Him to help us. I know for certain that with out His love I could not do it. I could not control my emotions and my reaction to situations. Amen.

Father I thank You for this day. I thank You for the privilege and the authority which You have given us in Jesus' name. I pray Father, as you have given us power over the enemy, over our situations, and circumstances. I pray over my brothers and sisters today, Lord, over each circumstances and situations of each person reading right now. I bind up any plan or purpose that the enemy has over them. I break and cancel any words of lies spoken over each and everyone of their lives right now in Jesus' name. I bind up and cast out any fear, worries, frustration, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and anything that would hinder them from living for you right now and give it no power to return to them in Jesus' name, but I pray Father, as you have cleansed and removed these thing from them, I pray in return Father, that you would fill each and everyone of us with Your Holy love , joy, peace, hope, faith, and fulfill your promised in our lives as we are hungry for Your touch. Pour out Your Spirit and touch us once again and refresh our soul with Your presence. Make known Yourself to us and help us to lay our lives down for others as Your Holy Son has laid His life down for us and help us to love one another as you, Oh Father, has loved us. I thank You Father, I ask and pray in the name of our savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

I thank God for each and every one of you who are reading this message today. I pray that He may touch and change your life as He has mine and give you a place in Him as He has given me by calling me His own. Amen.

Cyndie Tran

- The Father's Love Ministries