Tag Archives: Love

2016 Day 237 – Hebrews 4

24 Wednesday Aug 2016

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We all need help sometimes and we all need grace when we fail. While many people around us are incapable of granting grace, God’s grace is unlimited. Hebrews 4:16 says: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. When we come into the presence of God, He has already forgiven us. He loves us and wants an authentic relationship with us that can only be possible through forgiveness because of the blood of Christ. Let us never take that for granted.

2016 Day 231 – 1 Peter 4

18 Thursday Aug 2016

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We all get so hung up on the trivial things and we get distracted and focus on the wrong things. But Peter, one of the original disciples, reminds us of what Chris was really like and what He valued most. In 1 Peter 4:8 he says: Above all, love each other deeply,because love covers over a multitude of sins. When we love, and when we are loved, very little else matters. The power of our faith comes from loving others, not from judging them. It is a simply, yet powerful command.

2016 Day 226 – Titus 3

13 Saturday Aug 2016

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At the end of this letter to Titus, Paul give some final instructions starting with Titus 3:1-2, 1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready  to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. Our obedience to God comes first, but after that we are to be subject to those in authority over us. We may not agree with them, but we are obligated by God to obey. More importantly, Paul also reminds us to be Christ-like and to love others and show consideration to all. We are to be a reflection of Christ.

2016 Day 223 – 1 Timothy 6

10 Wednesday Aug 2016

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When I was in college I had a great friend who I would see on almost a daily basis. Each time we saw each other we would ask two questions: 1) Are you happy? The answer could be yes or no depending on how the day was going. 2) Are you content? The answer always had to be YES, because we wanted to remind each other that our contentment comes from knowing Christ is Lord of our live and therefore in control. In 1 Timothy 6:6-7 Paul reminds Timothy of the same idea:  6 But Godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. All we have and all we are ultimately comes from God. Happiness can almost seem like a luxury because we live in a fallen world. This world gives us plenty of opportunity to question ourselves and our worth. But when we look to God we see love and our true worth in the light of eternity.

2016 Day 218 – 1 Timothy 3

06 Saturday Aug 2016

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When serving the church we must first serve those closest to us. If we cannot serve our family well, then how can we be expected to serve the church? In 1 Timothy 3:5 Paul says, If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? The church is an extension of our family. If we neglect our immediate family to serve the church, then we have ultimately failed.

2016 Day 215 – Philippians 4

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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As we conclude the letter from Paul to the church in Philippi, Paul gives some final instructions in Philippians 4:8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. What Paul is saying is to focus on the good things and try not to think of the bad. What we put into our minds will ultimate control us. If we focus on the negative, we will be negative. If we focus on the positive, we will be positive. Paul tells us to program our minds with the positive focusing on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If we fill our minds with these things, there will be no room for anything else.

2016 Day 213 – Philippians 2

01 Monday Aug 2016

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Humility requires a true perspective of ourselves. Paul asks us to be true servants and humbly put others before ourselves as though they are better than us. This is regardless of how they may act. In Philippians 2:3 Paul says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Sadly, “common courtesy” is not very common. But through the example of Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, we can love and respect others and treat them as we would like to be treated.

2016 Day 212 – Philippians 1

31 Sunday Jul 2016

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Today we begin reading Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, which was meant strengthen the believers. Paul wanted the believers to know his strength and desire to live came from Christ alone. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, For to me, to live is Christ and to die gain. Paul was not only willing to die for the cause, but he actually preferred to be with Christ. Though, he recognized his mission was not yet complete and he still had work to do for the Kingdom. Paul was single-mindedly focused on serving Christ and others as long as he could on this earth.

2016 Day 209 – Ephesians 4

27 Wednesday Jul 2016

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One of my biggest struggles in life deals with anger. While 99% of the time I am“happy-go-lucky”, when the wrong buttons get pushed, I become a different person and it is hard for me to get over it and move on. To make matters worse, even though I know “sleeping on it” is not productive, it becomes a vicious cycle and is hard for me to just let it go. Paul addresses this in Ephesians 4:26-27, 26 In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.  I have learned over the years that even in a heated state it is better to talk things out than to simply walk away. The truth is the longer we hold onto pain that causes anger, the more likely we are to act in a sinful way. Anger is not sinful in and of itself, but the way we respond to anger can be. God never leaves us alone to deal with our own emotions. If we let Him in to help us, we can deal with it in a healthy and productive way.

2016 Day 208 – Ephesians 3

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

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What an amazing freedom we have to approach God directly through our individual prayers. In Ephesians 3:12 Paul says, In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Because of Christ, we have the ability to approach God directly through prayer. We are not hindered or limited by an intermediary. Praise God for the privilege of having a direct and loving relationship with Him.