Why Is Love So Important?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13, is best understood as a way of life; a life lived imitating Jesus Christ, a life that is not focused on oneself. Love is about action, how a person lives for the Lord and obeys Him and how a person serves others.

Love is the common denominator in how we relate to God, to others, or to ourselves. As followers of Christ, love is our trademark.

Love is a tricky word. It’s most often understood as an intense feeling of deep affection. Biblically, love has a much deeper and richer meaning; it transcends a feeling or emotion. This is what we see in 1 Corinthians 13. Paul tells us that love isn’t merely a feeling but a way of relating to others.

While most of us are fairly familiar with 1 Corinthians 13, slowing down to read it empowers us to enjoy subtle beauties we may otherwise miss. In this passage on love, Paul uses poetic symmetry to deepen his point. He lists eight things love embraces and eight things love resists.

In these verses, Paul instructs us about what we need to hold close and what we need to let go. He empowers us with a framework to respond to any situation in love. Sometimes we will need to do things that are out of our comfort zone; sometimes we will need to not do things that feel natural to us. In both situations, love empowers us to respond beyond our feelings so we may impart life to others.

We can begin by putting these into practice with those closest to us, our family. Although as Christians, we don’t stop there. As outlined in 1 Corinthians, we’re called to love everyone God brings into our lives.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the courageous love you’ve expressed to us through Christ. Thank you for the patience, kindness, and perseverance you embrace us with each day. As we celebrate your goodness in our lives, we pray you would also use us as instruments of goodness in the lives of others. Open our hearts and minds to ways we can demonstrate the love and compassion of Christ to those nearby, in our community, and around the world. Amen.

Devotional written by Cindy Dreblow

Love’s Crescendo

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

It’s easy to forget things that are otherwise important to you when you are sick. And when you’re really sick, the things that are really important tend to take priority over the things that you believe are important, but in reality, they are not as important as you may think! Even so, I woke up this morning realizing that I had missed a scheduled appointment. It wasn’t all that important, but I felt badly that I missed it.

Life is short. The older we get, the more we realize just how short life is. This was brought home to me when I received a lovely letter from friends who are transitioning to a long-term facility. I confess, their self-awareness and acceptance of their own mortality is more balanced than mine. I can continue to learn a lot from this dear couple whom I have come to know and love.

With my friends’ decision to move and my own head-on collision with the brevity of life due to my recent sickness, I have discovered something about love:

Love is stronger than death.

That may seem like a very simple and obvious statement, but thinking deeply about love made me realize a profound truth: Love transcends the graveside. Love overshadows death. Love laughs mortality because love knows that there is more.

Maybe that is why the Bible says that if I don’t have love I might just as well be clanging brass or crashing cymbal. Without love, I’m just a bunch of noise.

Maybe that is why a song that often replays in my mind is one I learned so many years ago as a teenager in Bible college. Written by one of the twentieth century’s great theologians, John F. Walvoord and award-winning musician Don Wyrtzen, the song is called Love Was When. It speaks of Jesus leaving His place in heaven to become a mere mortal.

There is the incarnation, that great humbling of the Infinite.

There is the crucifixion, that great humiliation of the Divine.

I can still see our choir director leading us into a crescendo of the message of why God, in Jesus, bled and died. He had one purpose – to bring faith, hope and love to a lost and dying world. There is no chaotic noise in love; just the crescendo of Father God, reaching to His lost creation.

Jesus died, so we could live. Jesus rose, so we could live forever.

Now the chaotic noise of mortality submits to the heavenly crescendo of immortality. When faith becomes sight; when hope is realized, love remains, because love is stronger than death.

Prayer:

Father, please teach me to love as you loved. Amen.

Devotional written by Pastor Betty Johnson

Living Loved not distracted

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 1 John 3:1-2

What does it mean to be a child of God? The world doesn’t know Him, so how can we live in a way that reveals God’s love? How can we live loved when the things of the world crowd out love for our Heavenly Father?

As we seek to find answers to these questions, we can know that we are chosen, loved lavishly and eternally as a children of God. We are adopted by Him, and born anew through the blood of Christ. We are pilgrims in this world, on a journey toward the eternal City of God. The world woos us with its whirlygigs, gadgets, and gizmos. It flashes its busy-ness as a badge of honor, but it is all fleeting. The Bible warns us not to be attached to the things of this world as they will surely pass away. These distractions often drive us to discontentment and even despair. We need to remember not only who we are, but whose we are.

“The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can’t supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.” – C.S. Lewis

As children of God, we live redeemed and re-formed. Our hearts are completely changed and re-formed in a new fashion where the Holy Spirit resides. As a result, we love differently than the world. We live and love in a way that shines God’s love through us. However, we can’t do that well when we are pulled into the world’s distractions: technology, money, status, vanity, hurry, to name a few. The joy of the Lord is our strength to live out the love of Christ in our lives. In the foggy miasma of this world, we may be the only true light that others see! How can we avoid the muck and mire of the world that can so easily entangle us? We walk by the Spirit and follow Scripture as our guide:

• Seek – Matthew 6:33
• Silence – Psalm 46:10
• Soberminded – 1 Peter 5:8
• Strong – Ephesians 6:10-12

As children of God, we have much to celebrate and share. Let 1 John 3:1-2 remind us to live as we are meant to: live loved!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise You that You ARE Love. Help us, Lord, to remember who we are in You and how deep Your love is for us. We ask for Your grace in our pace and help us to make our priorities to be the One Thing Needful. Keep us free from the enemy’s wily ways to distract us. In Jesus Mighty Name. Amen

Devotional written by Suzi Smith

Love Like You Mean It

1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Do you remember this song lyric from Sunday School?  There are many good people in this world, but not all good people are Christians.  There are also many Christians in this world who don’t live a life that exemplifies that of a Christ-follower.  Also, back to the song…what sets a Christian apart? 1 John 3:18 reminds us that it is not merely what we say, but how we act that distinguishes us from the world.  Christian integrity means that our lifestyle is a consistent reflection of what we say we believe.

Perhaps Jesus Himself, gives us a clue as to what faith and love in action looks like. “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink: I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” [Matt. 25:34-40 NKJ]. We have a responsibility to love and share our faith with all we meet.  Love is a gift that is not meant to be kept bottled up within us.  Love is not merely a feeling, but rather, an action.  Using the gifts of the Spirit that have been given to us, we are commanded to demonstrate Christ’s love to others.  Depending on the circumstances, it can be a simple gesture or it might be an elaborate effort.  As long as what we do is grounded in prayer and guided by the truth in God’s word, the Holy Spirit will give us courage to intentionally step out in service to the Master by sharing His love with those who need it most.

Start today! And they’ll know YOU are a Christian by your love!

Father in Heaven, you have ordered my steps and given me the example of your Son to follow.  Show me how I can use the gifts you have given me to act in love and service and to be your hands and feet in Your kingdom.  Send Your Holy Spirit to strengthen me and guide my behaviors every day of the week so that Your love can be known by those with whom I share it.

Devotional written by Anna Lokensgard

Selective Hearing

 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

My sweet wife has accused me over the years of having selective hearing. She feels that I can get so preoccupied listening to something else (like a sports game), that I am not hearing the important message that she is trying to convey. To make matters worse, I have constant ringing in my ears that makes listening difficult to start with.

In the context of this years’ conference theme, “Love be the loudest, hearing God’s voice above the noise,” coupled with the verse from 1 John 4:18, one can make a case that having selective hearing may not a be bad thing after all!

Just as the ringing in my ears would illustrate, there is so much noise around us that can cause distraction from what God is trying to say. In contrast, our heart’s desire is to have that close relationship with Him, so that we may know His voice above all others, and experience His perfect love, that can cast out all fear!

For example, when a little leaguer is able to focus on the coaches’ voice above the shouts of the crowd, that child knows when to keep rounding the bases or stop, sparing the team an “out.”

Let us be listening for God to give His direction and encouragement with His perfect love being the loudest, above the noise of our life.

Now that’s what I call selective hearing!

Devotional written by Steve Ware

Covered By Love

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
I Peter 4:8

At the beginning of I Peter, chapter 4, the apostle begins by telling us that we are to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ. Peter points to Christ as the One we are to emulate. Jesus’ death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins leads us to align our intent with His own. As a result, we ardently battle against any sin that seeks to undermine us, and we desire to lead our lives according to God’s will.

That being said, the verse on which we meditate today calls us to continue to love one another even when someone sins against us, despite any attitudes we may have about it. That is, we must let go of the offense committed against us and recognize that the love of Christ that lives in us surpasses any offense. We are to forgive and love those who have hurt us. Sometimes, that may seem very difficult, if not impossible! As Christ-followers, however], we must remember that the God-Man, full of infinite love died for each one of us, and He also did so for that very person who committed the offense.

Let us all receive the Word of God in our hearts today and reflect on that great love that our Heavenly Father that He placed in us. Let’s offer forgiveness to each person who the Lord brings to our mind.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus for your great love that saved me, though I am a sinner. Help me to forgive and love others, in the very same way that you have done for me. Amen.

Written by Dulce Rojas Hernandez

Cubrido por Amor

Sobre todo, ámense los unos a los otros profundamente, porque el amor cubre muchísimos pecados. 1 Pedro 4:8

Pedro comienza este capítulo de la Biblia explicándonos cómo es el parecimiento de Cristo Jesús en la cruz por el perdón de nuestros pecados, debe llevarnos a unirnos en un mismo pensar con él; luchar contra el pecado que nos accede y estar dispuestos a vivir nuestra vida, según la voluntad de Dios. Dicho esto en el versículo en el que hoy meditamos nos llama a amarnos unos a otros más allá de nuestros errores, y tal vez actitudes que podamos tener. Es decir, dejando pasar por alto la ofensa recibida y reconocer que el amor que habita en mi interior, sobrepasa cualquier ofensa. Perdonar y amar a quien te ha lastimado. A veces puede parecer difícil o a veces imposible! Pero recuerda que aquel hombre lleno de un amor y mensurable que murió en la cruz por ti. También lo hizo por aquella persona que te ha ofendido.

Medita hoy en tu corazón esta palabra y con ese gran amor del padre que hay en ti. Perdona y ama a aquellas personas que Dios traiga a tu mente.

Oración: Gracias señor Jesús, por tu grande amor que me salvó siendo yo un pecador. Ayúdame a perdonar y amar a otros, de la manera que tú lo has hecho por mí.

Devocional escrita por Dulce Rojas Hernandez

Love Be the Loudest

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3

We live in a divisive age, and this should not surprise us, for we inhabit a war zone: the Kingdom of Light has invaded the kingdom of darkness and none of us can be neutral in the conflict.

How is it, then, that Christians are so often seen at odds with one another rather than with the enemy of our souls? I suppose it is a case that we are being zealous for the Lord; determined to maintain His truth when we are confronted by those who do not grasp it as clearly as we do.

Yet Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

The world will recognize us as followers of Jesus, not by what we say, not by our grasp of theological truth, but by the love we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

That love is very attractive to the lost of this world: it carries the fragrance of Him: The One who gave Himself for us.

This is all well and good, but how are we to live out this love when our brothers and sisters say and do what they (so often!) say and do? Are we to ignore their errors and offences? Should we not be correcting them (in love!) and pointing them in the right direction? (Or at least telling our friends all about them to warn others about their words and behavior?)

Paul’s instruction in Ephesians makes clear what our attitude should be: the attitude of a slave to Christ, for that is what we are and we were dearly bought. We are to be humble, gentle and patient; making every effort. As slaves to Christ, it is not our place to sit in judgement on our fellow slaves. We are not appointed to judge, but to serve our Master.

The moment we forget our place; the moment we take our Master’s role in disciplining others, no matter how much we know or how right we believe ourselves to be, the fragrance of our Lord is lost.

This day, remember who you are: a slave to Christ. As such, you are set free to love and, with your brothers and sisters, bring the fragrance of His Presence to those who still sit in darkness.

This devotional written by Richard Stokes

Love Too Great to Understand Fully

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17b-19 

My wife, Tracy and I took our first mission trip in 2015, to the Dominican Republic. While we were there, I and another team member fell ill. We were staying in the home of Pastor Secundino. We called him “Papa Cundo” because it was easier for us to say. The Dominicans took very good care of us, treating us as if we were family. Papa Cundo’s wife made me and my ailing team member ajo (garlic) soup and served it with plantain chips to soothe our upset stomachs. Papa Cundo’s daughter-in-law, named Greissy, also ministered to us as she had just graduated from medical school to be a doctor. Our Dominican family spent all day taking care of us and, by late afternoon, I was feeling better.

I remember standing out on the porch with my two-dollar Spanish-English translation book trying to express to Greissy my deep appreciation for all they had done for us when she spoke a sentence that began with,” De nada.” It is used to express, “You’re welcome,” but literally it means, “It’s nothing.” She ended her thoughts with the word, “amo,” which is Spanish for “love.” Now, I didn’t know much Spanish, but I knew what “amo” meant, and the moment she spoke that word, it was if the doorposts and lintels in the throne room of heaven started shaking and all the windows of heaven opened up and poured out the most amazing, powerful, indescribable love I had ever experienced, directly into my soul.

Tears welled up. I was speechless. I was forever changed by that moment.

Of course, I had read Ephesians 3:17-19 before, but to actually experience this love that Paul says is too great to understand fully is amazing beyond description. It’s also astounding that Paul describes this love as if it had physical dimensions but lists four of those dimensions rather than the three, we would normally use: wide, long, high, and deep. It is exactly that kind of love the makes us complete and fills us with life and power and changes us forever.

I have never forgotten that moment in the Dominican Republic and never will. The roots of His love are indeed deeper and stronger than anything I have ever experienced and I pray that you and all people would someday experience the how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of God is in Christ Jesus. I pray we would all be able to share that love with the whole world.

AMEN.

Devotional written by Dan Jones

God’s Promise of Unfailing Love

Jeremiah 31:3: “Long ago the Lord said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.’”

The book of Jeremiah is filled with messages of God’s judgement and doom.

Following the destruction at the hands of Babylonians, we read about the Lord’s appeal to Israel. The nation would not be destroyed if the people repented.  He offered a wonderful future and hope for the nation.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “Long ago the Lord said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.’”

My friends, if you ever have any doubts, remember this passage, and know that you are loved by God – no matter what!!

At a very young age, I learned about God and his son Jesus. When I was four my mother would tie a dime for collection, in the corner of a hankey so I wouldn’t lose it on the way to Sunday School.  My Grandpa was the church custodian.  I would go with him and explore the church while he worked. I went through all the rites of passage in my church and always considered myself a Christian.

I am blessed with great friends. However, after nineteen years of marriage, I was divorced at the age of fifty.  One night I became overwhelmed with loneliness!  I wondered why.  I was not uncomfortable living alone. I didn’t want to repeat a difficult marriage.  My parents had passed away. I had no close relationships.  What was I to do with this sadness?

Devoid of hope, I finally turned to God.  I prayed like never before.  I thought I had given myself to the Lord during my confirmation, but did I – really?  I lived outside of a full-time connection to God. That was my choice, not His.

But God intervened! I climbed out of my bed and knelt beside it and prayed.  I asked God to forgive my sins, to be with me and to fill my emptiness. Yet, I felt I needed to be lower!  Lying face down on the floor, I asked Jesus if He would be my constant companion, so I would never feel alone again.

He met me there, on that floor and I was changed!  My thoughts and actions changed.  I felt different about myself and my life.  I am happy to say I have never felt alone since that day.  I frequently tell people that Jesus is my companion.

What a comfort it is to know how much God cares for us.  In the following chapters of Jeremiah, we see a new covenant that enriches the relationship between God and his people.

Prayer: 

Dear Sweet Jesus, thank you for Your life, Your sacrifice and for living out the words of our Father, reassuring us of His everlasting love. We are never alone. Should we have doubts, remind us of His message of unfailing kindness from long ago. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Devotional written by Jan Bowles

God So Loved the World

For God, so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

John’s Gospel provides beautiful word pictures of the Redeemer God promised throughout the centuries: the Word became flesh. He was the True Light, The Light that overcomes the darkness. Grace and Truth came through Him, The Lamb of God.

Jesus, the Light of the World, came to overcome the darkness of the world. Jesus, the Lover of our souls, came to save us from the sin that destroys the soul. In this way, Jesus was born into a culture that resembles our own today. Now, as then, there are some elements of the culture who deemed the God who created us as a relic, no longer desiring to honor or even recognize Him. Other segments of the ancient world were very religious, but missed the promised Messiah when He appeared. Still others focused on their own pleasure or human philosophies. One thing was true of people in the past, and in the present: Left to ourselves, we are without hope.

Yet, in the fullness of time, Jesus, the only Son of God came to earth with a single purpose – to save us. Jesus shines the light on our darkness, and gives us a choice. We can continue to live in the darkness of our earthly lives, condemned to an eternity of darkness, or we can turn to the Light. Jesus beckons us: walk with Me, talk with Me, stay with Me, find rest in Me – learn from Me, trust in Me – spend eternity with Me. He calls, but we have to choose.

The choice is clear. God so loved this world that he gave His Best, His only precious Son. The world was dark.  Jesus brought light to the darkness.  He offers that light today. He loves you so much. He came to be your Savior and invites you to live in His Love and Light forever.

Thank you, God, for the gift of eternal life with Jesus that you offer to each of us. May we who have received the precious gift of eternal life shine brightly and help others find their way to you. Amen.

Written by Jeanne Rah

LOVING WHEN IT’S NOT EASY

A new command I give you:  Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  John 13:34

I love “love”! My husband accuses me of having cartoon hearts floating around my head! I do like to express my love to many people in my life. That is probably because these people are easy to love – especially when they are kind and loving to me. How selfish is that? However, I know I don’t measure up to what the above verse asks of us: to love as Christ has loved us.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Sometimes, there are people in my life that are annoying or unkind or are treating me unjustly. That is when it becomes difficult to obey the command to love as Christ has loved me. This is when I do the only thing that can truly help me love better: pray about it. I need to pray regularly to ask the Lord to help me love people as He has loved me and will continue to love me, even when I am unlovable. That is what I need to continually remind myself of: I am so undeserving of His love for me but yet He will always love me – no matter what I say, do or think.

Lord,
With the same grace and unconditional love you bestow on me, please help me to extend the same to those I come into contact with, even those I may feel don’t deserve it!

Devotional written by Beth Siebrands

LIVING, LOVING SACRIFICES

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

One of the best-selling books of all time is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. This allegorical work has provided inspiration for readers since its publication in England, 1678. As the story goes, the main character, Christian, struggles to press forward on a narrow path that leads to life from his home in the City of Destruction to ultimately reach the Celestial City.

Like most authors, Bunyan wrote about what he knew from his own life. One of the main themes in The Pilgrim’s Progress revolves around the burden that Christian carried, and how he struggled to make progress with it strapped to his back. Bunyan knew how that felt as, in his early life, he carried a heavy 60-pound anvil on his back to villages to fix pots and pans. What relief he must have felt each night as he laid that anvil down. The experience gave him a tangible way to describe Christian’s physical release of his burden at the foot of the cross. How much more relief we sinners experience as a result of forgiveness of sin!

Once we’ve laid our individual sin burdens down, what then? We have received a new life in Christ, and that brings with it, a new mission. So, we look to Christ who set the pattern for us on how to live, and fulfill that mission. In love, Jesus willingly laid down His life as the Lamb of God and in so doing, He became the sacrifice for human sin, something only He could do (John 1:29). It was the ultimate sacrifice, once-for-all.

These days, when we talk about someone giving the ultimate sacrifice, we mean that he or she has given his or her life for others. It brings to mind the heroism of a martyred missionary, a first responder, or a soldier in the midst of battle. It speaks of offering up one’s life for a higher cause.

However, many of us will never be called upon to make this type of sacrifice. Instead, we are called upon by the Lord to be living sacrifices. Once having laid down the burden of our own sin through salvation, we are called to take up another: Out of love for our Lord, we live in service to Him while serving others. We learn to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Prayer:
Lord, You laid down Your life for me. Help me, out of love for You, lay down my life for others.

Devotional written by Jennifer Hayden Stokes

Love: Even When It’s Not Easy

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  (Matthew 5:43-44)

It’s easy to love people who think like us – people who treat us well and love us back. Just like God loves us in all our flaws and weaknesses, He calls us to love those who aren’t as easy to love.

Think of it like this: if you take your child to a playground and another child pushes your child to the ground, it’s really easy to love in that moment because you know your child and are sad that he or she is hurting. However, the child who acted out is also deserving of love. It’s very likely the unkind action was a result of this child not feeling loved.

When we are anything but loving to people who are rude, lazy, prideful, greedy, and so forth,  it reflects more on us and our relationship with God than it does on the other person. On the other hand, when we show our “enemies” love and grace, regardless of their political, religious, or moral differences, we are being obedient to God and being an example to our neighbors and fellow Christians.

The latter part of Matthew 5:44 tells us to pray for those who persecute us. The act of prayer brings us into a closer relationship with God and results in us walking closer to Him, making it even easier to love those who may hurt us.

Prayer: Father, give me a love for my enemies that does not come naturally. Help me to see them as you see them—people who need grace and understanding. Amen.

Devotional written by Jessica Jones

Love Displayed

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My parents were never big on public displays of affection.

As kids, all my brother and I would ever see of my parents showing physical affection for one another was a kiss my father would give my mother when he got home from work. This was a daily ritual that if forgotten, Mom made sure Dad performed before he sat down for dinner. My parents’ love for one another was never called into question but beyond that kiss, they were never really into public gestures of love.

I was never much for receiving hugs or kisses when I was young myself, but things changed for me when I became a Christian in college. Whenever I would leave home and return to campus, Dad would start our ritual goodbyes with a subdued and almost imperceptible gesture. He would slowly raise his arms out from his side and wait for me to approach him. I would eventually get the hint, walk up to Dad and receive a couple of pats on the back and a light kiss. Mom was never far behind to do the same and for the two of us, it was easier. Once my guard was finally down, my comfort level in receiving that affection greatly improved.

I’ve come to learn that God is a master at unraveling my resistance to receiving love. One of my favorite verses in the scriptures has become Romans 5:8, where it says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

How exactly does God demonstrate His love? Like my earthly father, it was through the stretching out of arms. Jesus Christ allowed his arms to be stretched out wide in order to be crucified for our sins. He demonstrated His love for us through His two hands. He could have pulled away His own hands from the wooden beam but instead, He let them be nailed in place by Roman centurions who had no clue they had just been cast in the greatest public show of love imaginable. God’s love was placed on display for eternity to see as one tortured, beaten, broken Savior, lifted high on a pole that should have been ours but by God’s mercy and grace, was not.

You may not see it, but the Lord is waiting for you to come to Him and His arms are wide open. He is ready to hold you close, too, in His perfect, never-ending love for you.

Father, thank you for sending your Son to this earth to die on the cross for me. Help me to recognize and receive your love for me, and help me remember that no matter what I have done, you always welcome me into Your presence and heavenly home with open arms. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotional written by Beth Crosby

Love That’s Bigger Than Your Doubts

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

God loves you. You betta believe it!

But sometimes… I don’t believe God loves me. Isn’t it funny how, as Christians, we can express encouragement, kindness, and muster up amazing strength to fight for those we love. Yet, why can’t I receive a compliment? Why do I push people away? Why is it that my heart shies away from the idea that God loves me?

For many of us, it goes all the way back to our childhood experiences. Fears were created. Insecurities were custom-made. Then, there was also a lack: of guidance, safety, stability. Maybe even a lack of Love.

Perhaps personal barriers within came later on in life as the result of an abusive relationship, church hurt, a toxic work environment, or social media screaming out critical opinions left and right.

I carried many scars tied to a few of these common things. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but do you want to hear something interesting?

The most healing revelation I’ve experienced was exactly the one I was running from. God loves me. No, I didn’t actually accept this truth right away! After all, you can’t immediately trust someone who you don’t really know. It has taken me years of daily repentance and the renewing of my mind, by consuming scripture. It took serious growing pains to know and experience this person named Yaweh, but I would take on a thousand more years of the same thing if it meant that I got to deepen my relationship with Jesus. To know him is beautiful.

He doesn’t carefully or slowly offer his affections, little by little. It’s 100% full commitment and full-force love. It’s Love, with a capital “L” that can’t be earned. It just IS. The most beautiful thing that I believe now is that I was created to be filled with the love of God. There is no one like Him, not even among friends, spouses, family, jobs, ministries, or systems. Though they all fail us, God is sovereign and His love is unfailing. As we read in Romans 8:38-39, we see that NOTHING in all creation can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ (you and I are included)! So, whether you struggle with the occasional doubt or the everyday thought that, “God could never really love me,” I’d like to pray with you,

Heavenly Father, here I am again. Though I feel doubtful and unworthy, I thank You for loving me. You don’t fail. You don’t doubt. You see me as your precious child. Jesus, please help me to know and trust you. Heal me. Empty me of my past and of my hurts. Fill me with Your love and vision. I want to believe your promises for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Devotional written by LaDonna Alvarado