This past week has been a strange, busy journey, but one dominated by a crucial confrontation: LOVE. Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit confront you about something? For me, it involved wrestling with

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life“.

It was hard to wrap my mind around the concept of GOD loving me. We live in a difficult tension in 2025: one foot here on earth, and one foot in Jesus’ Kingdom—which is at hand, both Here and yet still to come. Since we are immersed in this world, we are constantly being discipled by it.

The Slow Cooker of Discipleship

The tension between the world and the Holy Spirit impacts how we approach growth. We often approach discipleship as a microwave, expecting instant results. However, being discipled by the Holy Spirit requires time and space.

It is like a slow cooker. Love and Grace require time to marinate and saturate, leading to transformation over time. While the microwave has its purpose, transformation, like a quality roast, shouldn’t be done in one.

We must let the truth that GOD SO LOVED the WORLD. GOD SO LOVED YOU. GOD SO LOVED ME marinate into our hearts.

The God Who Acts

The love of God (Yahweh) is not just a feeling; it is an action-based love.

Consider the magnitude of the God of the Universe who loves you:

  • Lightning bolts report to Him.
  • He laid the foundation of the earth and set the CORNERSTONE.
  • He shut up the seas and set their limits.
  • He gives orders to the morning and can loosen ORION’s belt.

This God sought the benefit of humans in His love. As 1 John 4 reminds us, love comes from God. God demonstrated His love by sending His Son “as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”. We love because He first loved us. It is not His second nature; love is who God is.

Discipled by the Internet, Blind to the Experience

One of the biggest problems we face is that we can’t grasp or even accept this love. We hear the message, but we don’t truly listen.

We are being discipled by the INTERNET. If you need an answer to a problem, do you stop and think about it, or do you pick up your phone and ask Siri? We can get 3 million results of information in a split second. The speed and quantity of information are discipling us. The amount of known information now doubles in mere months.

This flood of information has created an issue: We may know hundreds of things about God, but have you ever experienced God?. The Hebrew word YADA concerning God is not about intellect; it is experiential. The love of God is meant to be experienced, not just read about.

The Complexity of Yahweh

Reflecting on John 3:16 brings us to the concept of Yahweh and the Trinity. Yahweh is so complex that if you can explain this foundational truth in a logical, clear meaning, you might have made God smaller—you might have made God in your image.

We believe that YAHWEH is ONE, and yet there are 3 distinct persons of the Trinity. All three persons share the HONOR, ATTRIBUTES, NAMES, DEEDS, and ‘SEAT’ of YAHWEH. Each person has a role in our salvation:

  • God the Father (Power, LOVE, Sends the Son).
  • God the Son (Being sent, Death on the cross, Resurrection).
  • God the Spirit (Gift sent by the Son, Regeneration, Seal).

Yahweh is complex and all-powerful, and Yahweh loves you. He did not wait for us to be good enough; He sent.

A Call to Listen and Experience

The earliest Christians saw the Kingdom of Heaven as something to usher in here, now. They let the pace of life be slow and meditated deeply on the teachings of Jesus.

They understood God as “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). His love is faithful, not temporary, and His attention has always been on us and the rest of creation.

This Advent season, Yahweh is speaking to you. Will we stop and listen FOR him… and TO him? We might be too distracted, too “entertained to oblivion,” or lulled to sleep by our shiny new technology (whether it’s ancient bricks or modern AI).

God’s love is like the sun: it always shines. Even if you are in a basement with the blinds closed, God’s love persists. Let’s experience the love of God this Advent.

Reflect and Act

If you want to walk out of here differently from how you walked in, take time to consider these questions:

  1. What do you need to give up this Advent season to hear and listen to God’s voice?
  2. Have you made God so small that you can explain Him and His ways so clearly and so logically?
  3. Have you experienced the LOVE of Yahweh, or just heard about His love like a mythical creature? Remember, even if you didn’t have a good earthly father, God is a GOOD father.

Sit for 60 seconds. Dwell on the love of Yahweh. Write out what you want to give up this Advent season and hold your hands open in reception. What are you willing to give up so you can receive from Yahweh?