The soul of religion is compassion. God is often said to be compassionate and merciful, gracious and abounding in steadfast love. Without compassion, love does not mean very much in practice. All the great world religions espouse compassion for others as essential for the practice of their respective faiths. In Hebrew, “compassion” comes from the word meaning “womb-love,” how a mother loves that which issues from her womb. And how could Mother God not desire that Her children have compassion for their own siblings? Jesus said that however we treat the least of His family, we are in fact treati ..read more

Love goes beyond the grave. I have seen enough to be convinced that love does not end but awaits fulfillment in that mysterious realm beyond the pale of this pleasant place which faith calls heaven. When we die, we cannot take the things of this world with us. But I believe we can take love relationships with us. Where in this life wealth is usually measured in terms of money and material possessions, where we are going, wealth is measured by love relationships. I have been blessed by numerous testimonies and have personally experienced communication between the living and the dearly departed ..read more

In the middle of his setting forth the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul turns to the highest gift of all: love. But not just any form of love; rather, the love which comes down from heaven. The Greek term for this love is “agape.” It appears almost exclusively in the New Testament in the Greek speaking world of this time. It refers to God’s own love, which we are first to seek receiving, and then to share it with others. Perhaps the best analogy of agape love is that of pouring water from a large pitcher into an empty glass. If you do not stop pouring, the water will eventually overflow the glas ..read more

   In the middle of his setting forth the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul turns to the highest gift of all: love. But not just any form of love; rather, the love which comes down from heaven. The Greek term for this love is “agape.” It appears almost exclusively in the New Testament in the Greek speaking world of this time. It refers to God’s own love, which we are first to seek receiving, and then to share it with others. Perhaps the best analogy of agape love is that of pouring water from a large pitcher into an empty glass. If you do not stop pouring, the water will eventually over ..read more

One of the most important concepts of the Christian understanding of God is grace. God is said to be gracious, full of grace. Also, fortunately for us, God is also said to be full of mercy. Perhaps the best brief definition of both mercy and grace is this: “Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve; grace is when you get what you don’t deserve.” Salvation ends up being a gift of sheer grace, to be received by faith in Christ. Grace means that God does not have to do what God does, that God does not operate out of necessity but total freedom. Imagine a person choosing to be kind and consider ..read more

If you want to have friends, you must first be a friend. Call it a “boomerang effect”: whatever signals you send out, will sooner or later come back to you. Here are twelve principles for being a friend, especially when another is in need of a friend: 1. Follow the Golden Rule. Be the friend to the other you want the other to be to you. Apply your self-understanding to the other, for we share a common humanity. Yet never assume that the other feels just like you, or you like the other. Respect, do not gloss over differences. 2. Be present for and with the other. Here is a key to friendship: be ..read more

Many persons think that being a Christian is about what you have to give up, rather than what treasure you might receive. Yet the truth is, what may appear as a sacrifice from the outside, will in fact be anything but a sacrifice from the inside, for the persons making it. Does God seek sacrifice from us? Are we supposed to get rid of all our possessions, so that we may possess the kingdom of heaven, whatever and whenever that is? God says through the prophet Hosea that God desires “steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6). Jesus slightly a ..read more

Many persons think that being a Christian is about what you have to give up, rather than what treasure you might receive. Yet the truth is, what may appear as a sacrifice from the outside, will in fact be anything but a sacrifice from the inside, for the persons making it. Does God seek sacrifice from us? Are we supposed to get rid of all our possessions, so that we may possess the kingdom of heaven, whatever and whenever that is? God says through the prophet Hosea that God desires “steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6). Jesus slightly am ..read more

God is not only our Father. God is also our Mother. God is in truth, our Single Parent. And we learn right away in Genesis 1:27 that both male and female are made equally in God’s image: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” That means the one God functions as both our Mother and Father. Through Isaiah, God says:“Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones. But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me ..read more

https://drhalgreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/THE-BENEFITS-OF-PRAYER.mp3 Prayer establishes your personal, private relationship with God. It is the greatest love relationship you will ever have; it may begin here, but it will not end here. Amazingly, it is eternal. When you pray, the hidden God will be gazing on you from eternity, and seeing not only where you are, but where God wants you to be. God seeks what is best for you not only for the moment, but for eternity. Your task is to let God be God, and to seek above all to do God’s will, even if you do not understand the “whys.” Trust th ..read more