It’s already the month of March!

As I write to you, Denise and I are wrapping up our time of ministry in the United States. She and I are thankful that so many people were able to attend our meetings in various places across the country. We are so grateful for what the Holy Spirit and Word of God did in so many people’s lives during those meetings. But now our trip is coming to an end, and on March 4, we will celebrate the official launch of our newest Russian TV channel that God has put into our hands!

As I told you last month, this new channel (which is in addition to our international satellite channel) is specifically designed to reach across all of Russia and potentially into nearly every home. God has entrusted us to do some amazing things over many years, but this is one of the most important assignments He has ever given us, and we are thankful that He has trusted us to do it. But please pray for us, as we still need finances — especially for this first month of launching the channel. We also need continued divine favor to keep expanding our reach to as many Russian homes as possible!

In my last few letters, I wrote to you from the prophetic word the Holy Spirit gave to me for our friends and partners for the year 2024. Here it is again.

The year 2024 will be visited with turbulent episodes across the entire globe, especially in the realms of finances and politics and in the nations. These episodes will be of a sort that they will potentially cause those who are not rooted in God’s Word to be deeply disturbed. But for those who stay in faith…stay in peace…stay in love…stay in fellowship…and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity — they will experience a supernatural power that will cause them to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and to walk in a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory. Yes, those who stay in faith, in peace, in love, in fellowship, and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity will be blessed, empowered, joy-filled, and sustained, and they will miraculously thrive even if the world around them is tossed with a tempest.

I want to draw to your attention that the word above says those who stay in faith…stay in peace…stay in love…stay in fellowship…and keep sowing seed for the sake of eternity — they will experience a supernatural power that will cause them to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and they will have a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory.

One purpose of prophecy is to help us wage a good warfare. I wrote last month that Paul told Timothy, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). So just as Paul told Timothy, we, too, need to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit has specifically spoken to us to help wage a good warfare!

Last month I also wrote to you about what it means to stay in “peace,” and today I am moving to the next part of the prophetic word for 2024, which is about staying in “love.”

What It Means To Stay in Love

In the New Testament, there are primarily two words for “love.” The first is phileo, and the second is agape. Let me give you the meanings of them both and then show you the difference between these two kinds of love.

The word phileo means to love like a friend and describes a reciprocal kind of love that is shared between two or more people. I call it the lowest kind of love because it can be forfeited if it is not reciprocated as expected. This phileo type of love says, “I’ll scratch your back as long as you scratch mine, too, but the day you don’t return the favor by scratching mine is the day I’ll be done sowing into this relationship!” Thus, phileo love has strings attached to it.

Unfortunately, this is the type of love that most people know in many of their relationships, including marital relationships, parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and relationships with friends. Because this type of love is looking for a response, if the correct response is not returned as expected, it usually leads to disappointment and often even to the end of a relationship.

But there is a higher kind of love that is referred to in the Greek New Testament as agape, which is the highest and finest kind of love that exists.

The Greek word agape describes a divine love that gives and gives, even if it’s never responded to, thanked, or acknowledged. This lets us know that God’s agape love has no strings attached to it, and it can never be offended. God’s agape love occurs when an individual sees, recognizes, understands, or appreciates the value of an object or a person. Furthermore, agape causes a person to have an irresistible love that is so profound it knows no limits or boundaries in how far, wide, high, and deep it will go to show that love to its recipient. It is a self-sacrificial love that moves the lover to action. Clearly, agape love is unlike anything we could generate in our own strength.

The word agape describes the highest level of love that exists in the world, and it is the level of love that God wants every believer to walk in. It is a love so completely different from what the world offers that it is the word always used to describe the love of God. Indeed, it is a divine, supernatural kind of love that is both unconditional and sacrificial.

You may be thinking, I just don’t know if I have it in me to love on that level. But the truth is, you do because the Bible says, “…The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). The word “love” in this verse is the word agape. That means, according to this verse, the agape love of God has been shed abroad in the heart of every believer — including yours if you’ve been born again. The words “shed abroad” describe a pouring forth, a spilling out, or something that is dispersed in abundance. In other words, the moment you surrendered your life to Jesus and made Him your Lord and Savior, God liberally and lavishly poured this agape love into you — and since you have it in you, if you’ll ask, the Holy Spirit will help you tap into and walk in this high-level love in all your relationships.

Let me give you an example of why you need this agape love to be operative in your life. Paul describes why we need it in First Corinthians 13:4 where he says that this kind of agape love “suffereth long.”

The words “suffereth long” are interpreted from the Greek word makrothumia, a compound of the words makros and thumos. The word makros means long and may indicate something that is long or of long duration. The word thumos means anger, but it also embodies the idea of swelling emotions or a strong and growing passion about something. When these two words are compounded to form the word makrothumia, it pictures the patient restraint of anger and, therefore, longsuffering. It can also describe forbearance and patience. Thus, “suffereth long” or “longsuffering” describes something that doesn’t easily give up or bow out.

A good, practical example of the word for “suffereth long” — the Greek word makrothumia — is a candle that has a very long wick. Think about it: A candle with a long wick is equipped to burn a very long time. You might say it is ready to forbear and patiently wait until a person finally comes around and sees the light. Someone who “suffereth long” is forbearing and patient with a person until that person finally grasps what is being communicated or taught.

The illustration of a long-wicked candle helps us see that a person who suffereth long does not easily give up or bow out. Instead, he keeps steadily burning and burning and burning. Spiritually speaking, he has a very long wick and has made the decision to hang in there and not give up — even though the other person is unresponsive and showing no signs of change.

Taking into account the original Greek meaning of this word, here is the Renner Interpretive Version (RIV) of this part of First Corinthians 13:4:

Love patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed and does not easily give up or bow out….

Unlike frail, human love, which eventually says, “I’m sick and tired of waiting for this person to change. That’s it — I’m out of here,” God’s agape love never throws in the towel. The longer the struggle, the more committed agape love is for that person. It is totally supernatural! First John 4:16 tells us that “…God is love.” And the word “love” here is the Greek word agape, which means God Himself is pure love — that is, the highest and finest kind of love — and that explains why God has never given up on you even when you failed to reciprocate love back to Him as you should have done! Aren’t you thankful that God’s love has no strings attached!

As we sail through the end times, we may occasionally experience disappointments with others. Maybe we expected more of someone, or we were disappointed by someone’s failure to do something we thought they would do. But it is vital that we do not allow disappointment, hurt, or offense to cause us to move into isolation where the devil can defeat us. We need each other, especially in these times. So if you feel disappointed in someone, I think a wise approach to dealing with it would be to say, “Lord, if I’m backing off from someone because of disappointment, I acknowledge that it means I’m moving in a low level of love…for if I were moving in agape — Your kind of love — I would be more longsuffering. Please teach me to release the high-level agape love of God from my heart into all of my relationships and to love with no strings attached.”

God’s Spirit will speak to your heart and show you how to release bitterness and hurt before it becomes deeply rooted in your soul. This divine pleading is God’s grace trying to help you overcome the situation before it becomes more serious. Don’t ignore that work of grace!

God has shed His love abroad in your heart, and if you’ll tap into it and release it, the Holy Spirit will cause that agape love to rise up and pour out of you and make you more steady in your relationships. But your cooperation is required in order for God’s love to accomplish its full work inside you. God’s grace will set you free from the disappointments that have plagued your past relationships and will produce a divine love inside you that has no strings attached — the highest and finest kind of love — the same kind of love that God has repeatedly demonstrated that He has for you.

Don’t allow the devil to drive you into hurt and isolation because that is a trap that can be very difficult to get out of. If God has placed a relationship in your life, it means you need that person. Of course, the devil will try to bring disappointments to sour it, but God’s grace and love will produce a current of divine love so strong in you that you’ll stay steady in love and be unaffected regardless of what others do.

If we’ll obey the Word of God, we will experience a supernatural power that will cause us to be unmoved, unshaken, well provided for, and to have a much-needed divine assurance, divine peace, divine power, and divine and supernatural victory.

Next month, I’m going to write you about the importance of staying in “fellowship” in hard times. But the first step to staying in fellowship is not allowing disappointments to knock you out of the relationship and drive you into isolation. And to be freed of the temptation to break and run, you’ll need the agape love of God to operate inside your heart and soul.

Let me pray for you:

Father, I pray in Jesus’ name that you will enable my precious friend to release the agape love of God that has been shed abroad in his or her heart by the Holy Spirit. And just as You demonstrate longsuffering with each of us, I ask that this divine agape love will produce in each of us a love that has no strings attached and that is not moved by what others do or do not do. I pray this in Jesus’ name!

Thank you so much for letting me minister to you this month on this important subject that affects all of us. Please look for my letter next month when I will talk to you about what it means to stay in “fellowship” in turbulent times.

Please pray for Denise and me, our family, and our team as we continue doing what Jesus has commissioned us to do. Thank you so much for being the partner you are and for all you do to help us. We are here to do the work, but your prayers and gifts put “fuel” in the tank so we can keep moving forward. We are so thankful for the financial fuel you put into the tank of our ministry. I know it ultimately comes from the Lord, but He uses you, and for that reason, we really want to express our thanks to God and to you!

Please let us know how we can pray for you! We are always here. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or write to us at prayer@renner.org.

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,

Rick and Denise Renner