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Post by Aeliana on Jun 8, 2023 10:57:38 GMT -8
God's Love Captivates Me
But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 5even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). Ephesians 2:4-5
I sit here thinking and meditating on His Great love and I start to cry. My heart is full of gratitude for His great sacrifice for me and for others. Wow! That the King of glory would lay down His life just for me because He said I was worth it.
I remember going to church from when I was a little girl until I was a young adult, and I still never experienced the Love of God. I knew in my head that He loved me but I didn’t know it in my heart. I didn’t know how to receive His great love. So I started serving in ministry doing as many religious things as I could to earn his love because I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I let him down so many times in my life so I was trying to make it up to Him, by serving Him in ministry to try to earn it. I wanted God to be proud of me. I thought if I did these things He would love me more.
It wasn't until I went through restoration to heal my broken soul from my past that The Holy Spirit revealed the Father’s love to my heart. He said He loved me and there was nothing I could do to earn His love, I just needed to receive it. I needed to ask Him to forgive all my sins, invite Jesus to come into my heart, and be my Savior and Lord. Then I could forgive others and forgive myself through his love.
I had an encounter with God that transformed my life. Is this kind of personal encounter that you need too? If so, please take time to pray this prayer, out loud if you can.
Prayer:
God, I’m tired of trying to earn Your love. I want to receive it right now by grace. Please forgive all my sins because Jesus died on the cross for me. Thank You, Father. Dear Jesus, please come into my heart and be my Savior and Lord. I give you all my heart and all my life. Amen.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 9, 2023 5:00:12 GMT -8
Love Sacrifices
THEN SAID the Lord to me, Go again, love [the same] woman [Gomer] who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins [used in the sacrificial feasts in idol worship]. Hosea 3:1
Someone who works with the dictionary of the New Testament said, “It is indeed striking that the noun agapē [self-sacrificial love] is almost completely lacking in pre-biblical Greek.” So where did the New Testament writers get it? From Jesus who spoke of the “agapē of God” and “My agapē,” His love that we are to abide in. But why would Jesus choose this virtually non-existent Greek noun to describe the love of God, when its verb agapein has about the same breadth of meaning in the Greek Old Testament as our word “love” has in English? I suspect it is because Jesus appreciated how the Holy Spirit arranged for it to be translated from Hebrew into Greek in the book of Hosea.
Yahveh God told His prophet, Hosea, to do for his wife what He was doing for Israel: demonstrating sacrificial love to save His people who were prostituting themselves to idols. So Hosea bought Gomer, a prostitute, married her, and had children (Hosea 1). Then she left them and went back to prostitution (Hosea 2). Then in further obedience to Yahveh, Hosea went, found her, and bought her again, so she could become faithful to him as he had been faithful to her (Hosea 3).
Jesus, like Hosea, sacrificed His situation—God in heaven; His reputation—the sinless Messiah; His occupation—servanthood through the prime time of His life; and His emotion—weeping over Jerusalem’s rejection and accepting the passion of crucifixion; all out of covenant-keeping love for a covenant-breaking people. Then He went even further and became the covenant-sacrifice Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 42:6)!
Stunningly, the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 2:5-8, not only described this love-journey of Jesus as how He emptied Himself for our salvation, but also as the mindset every follower of Jesus needs to develop and imitate!
Prayer:
Forgive me, Father God, for the self-defense mechanisms that I practice to protect myself from loving like You did. Help me, Holy Spirit, to empty myself like Jesus did, for the betterment of others in self-sacrificing love today.
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Post by civic on Jun 9, 2023 6:07:16 GMT -8
Great devotionals on Gods love thanks !
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 10, 2023 4:35:23 GMT -8
Love Looks Like Something
By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
John 13:35
Jesus didn’t say, “Somebody might be able to figure it out,” but “Everyone will know.” Love is obvious to anyone with eyes because it looks like something.
I know my father loved us because he was not satisfied for his wife and six children to live in the tiny and rickety two-bedroom parsonage the little church he pastored provided. My sister’s bedroom was the screened-in porch and my older brother and I slept in half of the garage—on beds he made. Then he developed and used the woodworking skills he learned from his dad to build us a big, beautiful four-bedroom house. And he showed me how to become a God-chaser.
I know my mother loved us because she saw what we needed and worked to get it for us, including food when we were hungry, clothes to keep us warm, songs to make us happy, band-aids to heal our bruises, and hugs to soothe our hurts. And she somehow stretched the few dollars they had to buy me, and the others, special presents for birthdays and Christmas, with self-denial and creativity. And she helped me feel the joy of singing praises to God.
Disciples don’t just study and think, they do stuff. They don’t just learn a lesson from their teacher, they imitate their master day after day. The more you become a disciple of Jesus, the more you will love your brothers and sisters in His family like He did. And the watching world will see it and be attracted to you, and to Him.
Prayer:
Help me so to live today that, when I lay my head on my pillow tonight, another follower of Jesus will have felt the love of Jesus for them through me.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 11, 2023 4:47:43 GMT -8
Love Gets Refilled
Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5
The greatest aspect of God’s love that I think of so often is His incredible Father’s heart towards us, His children. He loves us entirely, wholeheartedly, and actually delights in us.
As an older parent now, one with grandchildren as well, there is absolutely nothing that I would not do for my children and grandchildren. I so enjoy just being with my adult children. Nothing warms my heart more than to see them as the amazing parents they’ve become. I know that what I feel is just a “smidgen” of my Heavenly Father’s heart. When I am tempted to be so hard on myself, He encourages me that He knows my heart and accepts my feeble attempts to live for Him. He wants so much more for us than we can even imagine, and gave us His precious Son, His most valuable treasure, to express His love to us.
I love that I can sit in His presence and He will fill me up with His love—I don’t have to fabricate some kind of outward showing to express it—He will fill me with His love, so I can be led by His Spirit in how to show genuine love to others when I feel so inadequate. Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Throughout this next year, rely on His love. This will come from time spent in His Word and in His presence in prayer; receive the help you need to love those difficult people in your life—we all have them!
Prayer:
Dear God, You are love. Pour your love into my heart by Your Spirit today. May I be a vessel for Your love to flow through to reach the hearts of others. Show me in every situation today how I can respond with your love so that others may see You in me. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 12, 2023 4:33:47 GMT -8
Love Gets Refilled
Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5
The greatest aspect of God’s love that I think of so often is His incredible Father’s heart towards us, His children. He loves us entirely, wholeheartedly, and actually delights in us.
As an older parent now, one with grandchildren as well, there is absolutely nothing that I would not do for my children and grandchildren. I so enjoy just being with my adult children. Nothing warms my heart more than to see them as the amazing parents they’ve become. I know that what I feel is just a “smidgen” of my Heavenly Father’s heart. When I am tempted to be so hard on myself, He encourages me that He knows my heart and accepts my feeble attempts to live for Him. He wants so much more for us than we can even imagine, and gave us His precious Son, His most valuable treasure, to express His love to us.
I love that I can sit in His presence and He will fill me up with His love—I don’t have to fabricate some kind of outward showing to express it—He will fill me with His love, so I can be led by His Spirit in how to show genuine love to others when I feel so inadequate. Romans 5:5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Throughout this next year, rely on His love. This will come from time spent in His Word and in His presence in prayer; receive the help you need to love those difficult people in your life—we all have them!
Prayer:
Dear God, You are love. Pour your love into my heart by Your Spirit today. May I be a vessel for Your love to flow through to reach the hearts of others. Show me in every situation today how I can respond with your love so that others may see You in me. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 12, 2023 4:36:20 GMT -8
Love Acts
Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].
1 John 3:18
“My little Children”, is us, everyone walking out their daily life in Christianity. As we live our days, we attempt to love our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family through the good and everything that comes against us in our lives. To say I love you is an easy task for some. However, love is shown through action. Take time out of your day--to see or talk to a friend, to hug your child, to listen to your spouse about their day.
In some cases, love is shown through correction, whether to or from you. It is difficult to decipher love at times, but with prayer and action, love will redeem.
Consider how we can show love daily, not giving lip service, but in action:
Showing compassion in sincere practice to our children, spouse, family, coworkers, and friends.
Spending much needed time with our children.
Acknowledging something that your employee does well.
Finding your spouse’s Love language and communicating through it.
Making an effort to see family and friends.
Prayer:
Thank You that you are the God who acts. Help me to act out Your love today to the people You have placed in my life.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 13, 2023 4:45:34 GMT -8
Love Chooses
Colossians 3:12-14
I believe we all tend to evaluate love in our life based on our circumstances, and how it affects our relationships and situations. This is not the best way to think about love. We as humans can be so finicky. Have you heard of the saying, “They woke up on the wrong side of the bed”? We tend to gauge love from the place we find ourselves in, whether good or bad.
The good thing is that love is a choice we make. It doesn’t depend on what is going on around us. It's not something as simple as a feeling, or a perspective based on us. Love is the supreme power of the universe and God is love. It's actually a choice to wear love. We have to choose to put on love. We may not feel great or happy on a certain day but that's when, despite how we feel or what our circumstances are screaming at us, we can choose to put on love.
You say how can I do this? Through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is love. He is in you and he dwells in you. His power is working through you so you can. You have to make the choice to take off the flesh and put on the spiritual coat of love. You do this by faith. Knowing that, when you choose love by the power of God, you will get God-results. The enemy then has no power to steal your position of love. Love is moving and active in your life everyday no matter if it's a good day or a bad day. If you have to remind yourself every minute of every day, tell yourself “I choose love,” then do it.
Point of Action:
Choose to speak love into your own heart and mind. Put on and wear love today so you can be all that God needs you to be for the people around you.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 14, 2023 6:07:44 GMT -8
Love Imitates
I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. John 13:34
You have heard this before, but let’s remember how we define love here at the Rock: “Personal self-sacrifice for the betterment of someone else. Your needs at my expense. Not my needs at your expense.” To Love is to sacrifice, without expecting anything in return.
Jesus commanded us to love and gave us the prime example of how we are to love. The Holy Spirit not only uses Jesus’ sacrificial example as the definition of love, but also takes imitating Him to another level for us: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John. 3:16 NIV).
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and although we can never die for the sins of others we should strive to be more like Him by looking for ways to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ daily, and learning to love the same way He loved us. Sacrificially.
Point of Action:
Today I encourage you to spend some time with God. Ask him to reveal how you can follow the example of Christ and become the disciple He is calling you to be.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 15, 2023 5:20:44 GMT -8
Love Embraces Forgiveness
Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. 5It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. 6It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. 7Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].
8Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
I grew up in a great home with great parents, brothers, and a sister. My Mom and Dad were loving, caring, and very supportive of me and my siblings. My Father served in the US Military for 7 years and was a Sergeant with the title of Specialist 5 and served in the Vietnam War.
While serving in the war as a paratrooper and green beret, he encountered some trauma which later led to post-traumatic stress disorder. My Father is a great man, who loves his family and would do anything for them, but did not know how to show love and affection. This was passed down to me.
Many say, “our relationship with our earthly father mirrors our relationship with our heavenly Father.” For many years I have struggled with believing and accepting God's love. As I walked through a process of healing and restoration, I learned to embrace forgiveness. This allowed me to accept God's love for me, and to let it flow through me to forgive others.
Point of Action:
Take a moment to thank God that He forgave you because of Jesus. Then read the verses above again and think about how the true love of God will flow through you to someone specific today because you have embraced His forgiveness. You will be able to do all these things with God’s help despite negative feelings and regardless of someone else’s actions.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 16, 2023 5:41:07 GMT -8
Love Causes Success
Now before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that His hour had come [and it was time] for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. Having [greatly] loved His own who were in the world, He loved them [and continuously loves them with His perfect love] to the end (eternally). John 13:1
Now that’s a fascinating verse! “Why?” you might ask. Because it suggests that during the Feast of the Passover Jesus became aware of the fact that His life was coming to an end. Read the words again, “...when Jesus knew.”
Didn’t Jesus already know that He would give His life? Absolutely yes, He talked about it throughout much of His ministry. But what if Jesus was unaware of the exact time that He would go to the cross? I believe this to be the case, and for reasons the Scripture doesn’t tell us, Jesus all of a sudden becomes aware that His time is short.
What would you do if you became aware that you had days, maybe hours left to live? Jesus gathered those closest to Him – His beloved disciples – and began sharing the things they’d need to know so that they could be a success after He was gone. This is very evident considering that for the next five chapters, you’ll find the gospel of John packed full of the words of Jesus. I imagine you and I would do the same thing with our loved ones.
So what did Jesus say in those final moments leading up to the cross? He shared what He felt was most important before He left. And wouldn’t you know, Jesus said much about the subject of love.
What’s the takeaway here? Love is key to your success as a believer and follower of Jesus. You’re going to find it hard to thrive without it.
Point of Action:
Take the next couple of days and read through John 13-17. As you do, highlight the verses where Jesus talks about love and think about how His words can impact your life.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 17, 2023 5:34:28 GMT -8
Love Corrects
My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline]; Nor despise His rebuke, 12For those whom the Lord loves He corrects,Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:11-12
When my children were young, I learned the truth in the statement, “This will hurt me more than it hurts you.” I did not enjoy disciplining my children, but there were times it saved their lives. My middle son loved to run and once ran down the driveway and into a busy street. I was so grateful he was safe, I disciplined him and then held him tight in relief.
God loves us even more than we love our own children. As parents, we set rules to protect our children and to help them grow into successful adults. Just as we correct our children in love, God corrects us. God’s desire for each of us is to live a full life and to live joyfully. Without correction, we would continue to make poor choices and run the risk of losing eternal life with Jesus. We must stay teachable and allow God to correct us; in His love we are safe, we need it.
Hebrews 12:5-6, And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Point of Action:
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify areas in your life you have not welcomed God’s correction. Pray and ask God to forgive you and to help you welcome and receive all the love that God has for you, including correction. Allow the Spirit of God to teach you to receive correction so that you may experience all that God has for you.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 18, 2023 5:21:29 GMT -8
Love Sees Potential
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
In this verse, “love” is used to describe the nature of God’s love toward us: a sacrificial, self-giving love, pursuing our good at God’s own expense. It is an undeserved love poured out upon all sinners. God’s love is completely different than the world’s love. The world says, “I’ll love you if you are worth loving.” God says, “I love you unconditionally.”
Our commission at The Rock Church is to “love people to life.” God has called us to be a church in and around San Bernardino, which has recently been ranked as the most dangerous city in California. That means He trusts us to take His love to those around us, who on the outside appear to have no hope. He wants us to see what He sees, and help them become what He sees them as: successful, thriving, born-again believers!
I’m inspired by one of the greatest sculptors in history: Michelangelo. It is said, when others saw what they deemed a “useless piece of stone,” he saw a hidden masterpiece. Here are two of his famous quotes:
“Every block of stone has a statue inside and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
“I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
God poured out His love upon us when we were still sinners. He didn’t wait for us to get our lives together or tell us to get into good shape first. He saw the angel in each of us and sacrificially loved us so we could cooperate with Him to take on the shape in His mind’s eye.
Faith Declaration:
By God’s grace, today I will look to see the masterpiece God sees in at least three people, and ask Him how I can help them see it too.
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 19, 2023 6:27:43 GMT -8
Love Abounds
And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight, Philippians 1:9
Paul loved the Philippian believers. They were living God-centered lives and God was actively working in their midst. They supported Paul’s ministry while imprisoned. In Paul’s overflow of gratitude, he prayed that the love they were expressing towards him would increase even more! He knew their acts of love would produce greater levels of discernment and they would bring even greater glory to God.
Paul knew the power of love. If the believers would keep sacrificing to not only meet his needs, but also sacrifice even more to love each other, love their neighbor, and love the world, their ability to recognize and participate in the work of God would supernaturally increase. Their spiritual eyes would open to new insight because of their outpouring of their love. Their love expressed would place them in the center of fulfilling God’s purpose for their own lives. Lives full of meaning and purpose with the satisfaction of sowing fruit for eternity. The key… loving more and more. God hasn’t changed. Love still unlocks the purpose, plan, and call of God in our lives.
Point of Action:
Ask God how you can invest your time and resources to love more and better. Then follow through, so that your love abounds into purposefulness now and for eternity!
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Post by Aeliana on Jun 20, 2023 5:43:44 GMT -8
Love Prays
Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God]. Hebrews 7:25
What a verse. It is dynamite! You are a child of God, and our Jesus is interceding for us permanently to save us completely. Do you believe it? You are keeping Jesus busy, and He is working overtime because of you. What kind of love is that? He sacrificed His perfect life for you, blessed you with all spiritual blessings, and now He is interceding from heaven!
Let’s keep coming in prayer all the days of our lives to God through Jesus as He lives to intercede for us!
Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, the Highest Priest, and the Ultimate and perfect fulfillment of the promises of God, is interceding for you consistently. Can you imagine Jesus sitting at the right side of our heavenly Father, praying for you in and out of season? Praying for you diligently? Do you realize how important you are to Jesus?
You might be reading this devotional wondering where God is after months or years of presenting that petition that makes you wonder, “Is He even listening?” Our Father is not only listening to you, but Jesus lives to intercede for you, and the Holy Spirit helps you pray (Romans 8:26). What an encouragement for you to join Jesus in His ministry of intercession, and keep praying!
This is a wake-up call! Don’t give up. Be bold and have good courage. Your responsibility is to persevere, to be transformed by the power of His word, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and very important, to keep praying for yourself and others. Even while you are sleeping, Jesus is interceding for you. Alleluia!
Prayer:
Intercessor Jesus, I want to join You in prayer now, and throughout the day as you bring people to mind. For whom do You want me to pray now? …Amen. And I will pause and pray as You bring people to mind today. Amen.
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