Happy Valentine's Day With Love and Faith

"For God so loved the world, the He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I could not resist posting a special weekend edition to spread a little love around cyberspace. God's love is so immense He gave us His only son Jesus so we could experience the joy of everlasting life.

The actual name of today's holiday is St. Valentine's Day. Did you know there were numerous Christian martyrs named Valentine? Up until 1969, the Catholic church recognized 11 Valentine's Days! The Saints celebrated on February 14 today are Saint Valentine of Rome and Saint Valentine of Terni.

By the 1840s, Valentine's Day was reinvented to be the holiday we now know. People exchange greeting cards to express their love. In the 1900s, folks starting to give candy, flowers and cards and the tradition continued.

Sometimes Valentine's Day makes people feel pressured if they don't have a "sweetheart". It doesn't have to be that way because love comes in so many forms. You can love Jesus, love yourself, love your pet, love your friends, love your family, love co-workers - love is for everyone! If you need a little more love in your life, there are many places to volunteer your time and share love. You don't need a card or candy to express your love.

Jesus gave us one commandment - to love each other. Let's share the love from our hearts and not our pockets today by showing extra kindness to everyone we meet. If God can give us His only son, we can give our love to Him and those around us. Much love on Valentine's Day :)

Love Is All You Need

"A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

John 13:34

Welcome to Gathering for Jesus! Whether you are a Christian or curious about it, this simple site will give you a greater sense of what it's all about.

For my first post, I decided love was the perfect place to start. Jesus was a man so he knows we make mistakes. As modern people in a media-driven world, we know people have a short attention span. News happens so fast people forget yesterday's headlines tomorrow.

Keeping up with 10 commandments seemed to be a lot for mankind to grasp. Jesus came offering forgiveness and eternal salvation through this one simple commandment - to love one another.

People wonder about salvation for those in areas of the world that have not yet heard about Jesus. If there is love in their hearts, I believe they already know Jesus though it may not be in the conventional, biblical sense we know him.

The bottom line is love. If you think about it for a minute, if we live with love in our hearts and our actions reflected this love, it would eliminate a lot of problems today.

If you feel and act out of pure love, you will not kill, lie, commit adultery, covet what belongs to your neighbor or do anything that violates the original commandments. Hungry people would not be left on the streets with nothing. Sick people without money or insurance would not be left to die.

Unborn babies would not be aborted. Children would not remain in foster care or home while people spend thousands of dollars on fertility and excess fetuses. Imagine if politicians acted out of love and not greed! They could change the world.

I'm a simple person and keeping up with lots of biblical quotes isn't for me. I read my bible but my memory isn't always stellar. Remembering to love one another is easy so I can't forget. From there, my day is destined for success. Jesus really knows us!

Love takes away anxiety, stress and hatred. When we try to understand someone else, we always feel better ourselves. Sometimes we even learn something new about ourselves.

How does love make a difference in your life everyday? Do you believe if we all love one another everything else will fall into place? All comments and perspectives are welcome.

Have a beautiful, blessed day :)