This word is submitted by Teresa Seputis (ts@godspeak.org)

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                     I Loved You Unto Life

I have given of Myself for you, that you might have life and that you
might enjoy friendship with your God and that you might be adopted into
My family.  I have defeated the evil one for your sake and I have given
you My victory and My authority, as well as My peace and My joy.  This
all came at great cost for Me, but I love and value you so much that I
was willing to pay that price.

Yet child, at times you take what I have given you for granted and you
act as if you do not understand the great price that was paid for your
freedom.  Don't you understand that because I have given Myself for you,
I want you to give yourself to Me?  I want to use your life to bring
glory to My Father and to advance His kingdom.  I want you to be My
hands and arms and legs and feet to perform My Father's will now, just
as I performed it when I walked on this earth.

I have laid down My life for you because I have loved you with an
everlasting love. I endured hardship and pain and suffering for you so
that you would not have to endure it.  I allowed Myself to carry your
sin on the cross that you might be made righteous in Me.  I have known
and loved you before you knew to love Me.  But now that you do know
Me, I want you to respond to My love.

Have I not said in My word that if you love Me, you will obey Me and
keep My sayings?  I have loved you to life and now I desire that you
demonstrate your love to Me.  Obey Me and serve Me and honor Me.  Make
Me the Lord of every area of your life and yield control to Me.  Look
to Me and see what I am doing.  For I do only what My Father is doing
and I desire you to do it with Me.

Child, I long to hear you tell Me that your life is no longer your own,
but you give it to Me in exchange for the life that I laid down for you.
I desire that you serve Me with your whole heart, that you are fully
and totally committed to obey Me and that you desire My will above your
own.

The depth of love between us grows stronger when you make that type of
commitment to Me. It is not because I will love you more, for I already
love you fully and completely; and I demonstrated that by laying down My
life for you.  No, the reason that the depth of love between us increases
is because you begin to respond to My love and then My Spirit within you
will transform you and cause your love of Me to grow even more.  Your
capacity to love Me and to respond to My love will increase.  The more
you yield to Me, the greater your love for Me will grow.

And as that happens, I will reveal more of Myself to you and I will
cause you to walk in greater levels of My power and authority.  I will
cause you to know greater depths of joy and peace than you have ever
know before, and you will see My glory break into more and more areas
of your life.

Child, I have loved you unto life and now I want you to respond to that
love by giving your life back to Me and committing fully to love and
honor and obey Me with every fiber of your being.

Do you feel that is too much to ask of you?  What will your response to
Me be this day?