Day 213: Timeless Love

We’re going to start this week off talking about love. Yes I mean the love of God but also, I’m talking about romance. I mean we can’t truly love someone without first knowing the love of God and falling in love with Him.

Jeremiah 31:3

"I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With that unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

God’s love is everlasting, it stands the test of time, it stands through everything. There was never a time where God did not love us. His love is unconditional. He loves us throughout all of our ups and downs, everything. God’s love for us is so great that nothing we do can make Him love us less. This is the type of love that we should seek in every area of our life. No one will be able to love us in the exact way that God loves us, but the type of love He shows to us is how we should strive to love others and be loved by others.

We’ve talked about loving our neighbor and we’ve talked about loving our friends, we’ve even hinted on relationships. However we’ve never dived into the idea of falling in love and how God’s love for us influences the way we love, in a romantic way. Sounds crazy right, but God teaches us how to love in every area of our lives.

Genesis 29:20

So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

One of the earliest instances of true love I can remember in the bible is when Jacob worked seven years in order to marry Rachel. Now for those of you who know the story you know Jacob, the trickster was tricked by his uncle Laban into marrying Leah. Leah was Rachel’s older sister. So he worked seven more years to get the woman of His dreams. Yeah I know, it sounds crazy, but that’s how it happened. A lot went down in the old testament, if you think reality tv is something read the old testament of the bible. That’s something! However back to what we were talking about. Jacob worked fourteen years in order to marry the woman of his dreams. When he saw her, he was like ‘I like that girl and I’m going to marry her.’ I’m sure he didn’t think that He would have to work fourteen years to marry her, but he loved her so much the time flew by. He was so in love that the time he has to work to get her was nothing to Him. I mean what was seven or fourteen years compared to a lifetime? Many of us can’t imagine waiting that long to marry someone. We can’t imagine waiting that long for anything, but when love is involved it changes everything. Love can change things, and if it’s the right type of love, it will always change for the better. I know some of us are like, ‘love won’t change me’ and saying how you’ll never do things for love. Yeah okay, fall in love and see how that changes. I’m pretty sure Jacob thought he wouldn’t have to work fourteen years for love, but it had him in those fields everyday and the time felt like the speed of light.  

Now I’m not sure how many of you have been in love. I’m assuming quite a few of you have been in love this is the age where many of us are either falling in love, have been in love, or are currently in love. I’ve been in love before and first let me start by saying that I hope your first love ended much better than mine. However when you’re really in love with someone, time flies by. It’s timeless, you believe at least for the time being that you will love this person forever. It’s like Jacob, his love for Rachel was so strong that seven years felt like a few days.

When it comes to love I believe that there is both a healthy way to love and an unhealthy way to love. I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard the term blinded by love, but it’s not really a good thing. This is the type of love that is run by infatuation. The times when we are so into a person that we are blinded by all the red flags that God is flashing in our face. This is the type of love that leads to heartbreak. There’s a few things that we must learn about love as we grow.

We learn how to love from the love we have been given. For those of us who are Christian we have come to the knowledge that God’s love is unconditional and full of grace. We learn how to love properly because we serve a living God and He is love. His very essence is love. Everything about Him screams love. His love is unconditional. He sees our sin and sees our mistakes, yet He still chooses to love us. Seeing that this is the way God loves us, this is how we must love our others. Which leads me to my next point.

We must love ourselves before we can love anyone else. My mom always told us growing, “No one will respect you, if you don’t respect yourself.” I say that to say, sometimes we go looking for love and validation is someone and we end up ruining a great thing because we don’t love ourselves, and therefore we cannot grasp the idea of someone else loving us. Meaning we can sometimes stand in the way of being loved. The bible tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves but if we do not love ourselves how are we going to love someone else. Especially in a relationship.

Last but most definitely not least, love is work. If we want it to work  we have to work for it. Jacob worked seven years for the love of His life, and it flew by. We have to be willing to work for love. It won’t always be peaches and romance, sometimes it will be hard.  It’s those moments we have to work through. Now some relationships are only meant for a season, but when God sends the one trust me you will know it. When God sends the person you are meant to spend the rest of your life with, even then, especially then, we have to work for it. We choose to love that person every day. We continue to fall in love.

However, just because we’re falling in love with someone doesn’t mean we stop falling in love with God. God must always come first, always. Nothing and no one should ever come before Him. We must fall in love with Him more and more everyday. It is the only way we will be able to survive and live.

Reflection

1. Are you in love?
2. Are you in love with God?
3. Do you love yourself?

Prayer Time

Allow your overall response to today's discussion and the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about love, being loved, and falling in love.

I know you’ve read this word a million times, but I love  and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 214!

Day 212: Recap!

Day 205: Life Advice Part 1

We started the week off with some advice about life. Today we talked about knowing our weaknesses but also not being defined by them. We talked about how we can capitalize on our strengths and use that help us with our weaknesses. We focused on Philippians 4:13 and Romans 5:3-5.

" As human beings there are going to be times when we are weak, but in those weaknesses God is made strong. And it is through the power of God that we receive strength. "

Day 206: Life Advice Part 2

Today we talked about how God has given each and every one of us a life to live, and that life belongs to us, no one else. We talked about how we sometimes feel like we owe our lives to someone else or we let people run our lives. The only person who has the power to run our life is God, the only person we owe anything to is Jesus Christ. We focused on John 17:25 and Job 33:4.

"Don’t live your life allowing other people to dictate who you are and what you should do. You know who you are, you’ve found your identity in Christ. Live. This is your life. You get to choose how you live, and as long as your life lines up with the word of God you are good."

Day 207: True Colors

Today we talked about showing our true colors, and how that's not always a bad thing. We talked about letting our true colors show and making sure those colors are beautiful. We focused on Ephesians 5:!3 and Galatians 5:22-23.

"When people see our true colors let them see love and joy, patience goodness, all the fruits of the spirit. These should be our true colors. It’s not always a bad thing, it can be and actually is a good thing. Let it show, let it fly."

Day 208: Patiently Waiting (It's Coming)

Today we talked about patience and how there is a huge difference between waiting and being patient. We talked about waiting on God and waiting with a good attitude, and not getting impatient with Him. We focused on Romans 8:25.

"We must learn to wait with dignity. I know it’s hard especially when we stand in desperate need and we are praying to God with everything and in desperation, but even in those moments, trust His timing."

Day 209: Don't Cover Your Light

Today we talked about being a light to the world in the same way that Jesus is a light to the world. We talked about this responsibility to lead people to Christ with the light that we have in us through Him. We focused on Matthew 5:13-16, John 8:12, Galatians 2:20.

"Darkness is the absence of light, and if Christ is the light, and we are in darkness it means that we are living without Christ. However, when we submit our lives to Christ, and Christ is in us then we have that same light. So when Jesus tells us in Matthew that we are the light of the world, it’s kind of like a responsibility. If He lives in us we are lit by Him. The light we illuminate is the light of Jesus Christ."

Day 211: Love Is...

Today we talked about the definition of love. The liberal definition of love. We talked about the characteristics of love and how they are the characteristics of God. We talked about how God is love. We also talked about how love is forgiveness. We focused on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and 1 John 4:8.

"I think many of us get to this mindset because we are living by man’s standard of love, not God’s. When we live by God’s standard of love, all of this will be much easier. Life is better because we cannot help but love people, we cannot help but forgive. God’s love is the best kind of love."

Day 211: Love Is...

Love is probably one of the hardest words to define because it can be described and showed in so many different ways. With love languages, and expressions and the hesitation to say “I love you” to someone you know you love. Love is serious, it’s not always taken seriously, but it is a very serious thing.

We struggle so much to define the word love and we often look for it in places where it is not. I think that we have all had experiences where we felt love for the first time, like really felt and understood it, as well as knowing what its like to love for the first. I must say that it's a truly beautiful feeling. We can live our whole lives thinking we know what love is and in a minute the definition is completely changed, because somewhere along the way we have an experience that either shows us this is what it looks like to be loved or shows us what its like to love. However it’s very hard to put into words, or at least that’s what I thought. I found the definition of love without even knowing I was looking for it, and it came through reading the word of God. I came across 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

This is love, if we are looking to put it into words here it is. Not only does God show us what love is, and what it looks like, He explains it to us. In plain terms there are no metaphors or riddles to figure it out. It’s straightforward. God defines love for us, and it’s beautiful.

The most beautiful thing about it is God is describing himself. 1 John 4:8, Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. To know love is to know God. When Paul writes about love He is describing the very characteristics of God. If we live our lives to serve God and if God is in us, these are the characteristics that we must also inhabit.

Not only does God show us what love is, He shows us how to love. Being patient and kind. Not being jealous of anyone or anything or prideful and boasting. My favorite is, “keeping no record of being wronged”. Love is forgiveness. Love is the ability to let go and move on. Probably the hardest characteristic of love, because many of us have been hurt by people who say they love us. Hurt by love as we would say. I think many of us get to this mindset because we are living by man’s standard of love, not God’s. When we live by God’s standard of love, all of this will be much easier. Life is better because we cannot help but love people, we cannot help but forgive. God’s love is the best kind of love. Love does not rejoice at injustice, love fights for justice, it fights for truth. Love doesn’t give up, it doesn’t lose faith, it’s hopeful and endures. If you love something or someone, you don’t give up on it or them. You don’t give up faith or hope. Love keeps you going, it keeps you motivated. Love makes you continue to fight even when it’s hard and you feel like you have nothing left. This is how God loves us. This is how we are to love ourselves and how we are to love others.

All this to say, if you're looking for love, look to God. You won’t find it anywhere else, God is the source of love. He is love.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to talk to God about what it is to love and be loved. Respond in whatever way you feel led.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 212!

Day 210: Don't Cover your Light

Matthew 5:13-16

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

John 8:12

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

I think the first thing to take away from the above scriptures is that Christ is the light of the world. In Him there is no darkness. Jesus is the light this world needs, and the light this world craves. He brought something that we could not attain on our own. He brought light into a world of darkness. Darkness is the absence of light, and if Christ is the light, and we are in darkness it means that we are living without Christ. However, when we submit our lives to Christ, and Christ is in us then we have that same light. So when Jesus tells us in Matthew that we are the light of the world, it’s kind of like a responsibility. If He lives in us we are lit by Him. The light we illuminate is the light of Jesus Christ. What I’m saying here is, while we are here on earth we are representatives of Christ, ambassadors. We represent the life death, and resurrection of Christ in the way we choose to live and love. There are so many people out there searching for Christ and don’t know where to look, so many people stuck in darkness that could use a little light. According to Jesus, we are that light. As disciples of Christ it is our duty to shine our light in a dark world. If we have accepted Christ into our lives and received the Holy Spirit, we have this light, Let’s not cover it up or try to dim it. Let it shine, let it shine bright. Be a beacon of light, the light that we have through Jesus Christ is a beacon of hope for someone.

All this to say, don’t cover up or try to hide your light. Let it shine so that people may see the glory of God through you. That people may find hope in Jesus Christ. Be a representative of the gospel, an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Allow your light to lead people to the cross and further more to salvation that will allow them to live a life that is eternal.

Response/Prayer Time

Respond today however you feel led. Allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within you. Talk to God about being a beacon of light. Have a conversation with God about whatever is on your heart today.

If you have not accepted Christ into your life, if you have yet to make that decision, I believe that now is the time. If you want to step out of darkness and into the light, choose today to dedicate your life to Christ and live with Him all the days of your life, for all eternal. This decision is eternal, and so worth it. If that’s you, if you want to make that decision today, pray this prayer with me.

Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sin and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I love you, congratulations to those of you who have decided to follow or rededicate your life to Christ today. THe next step would be getting plugged into a church and a small group if possible. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact me.

I love you, and I hope have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 211!

Day 209: Patiently Waiting (It's Coming)

Romans 8:25

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Patience- an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay:

One thing that I can easily admit is, I am not always the most patient person. I don’t like waiting, especially when I feel like there is no need to. one of the reasons I hate traffic. Like I hate it, it makes me so angry, especially when I need to get somewhere. I especially despise it when the traffic is unnecessary, for example one lane is closed due to an accident and everyone wants to stop and look at the accident instead of going on about their business. It makes my blood boil. I just don’t like waiting, I will but I won’t like or enjoy it. This is where we learn the difference between just waiting and being patient.

This is one of the things God has taught me over the years, patience. Not everything will move in my timing and I have to be okay with that. I have learned that sometimes I will have to sit through some traffic before I get to where I need to go, and by the time I get there, everything will be right.  Everything will fall into place because God’s timing is perfect. I’ve learned that sitting through the traffic is what teaches me patience. Sometimes the things we want take a bit more time, some prayers get answered quicker than others and I the only reason that I can give you is, God’s timing is perfect. Many times God does things to teach us, to help us grow. I believe that when we are waiting it is teaching us a lesson in patience. It’s teaching not only to wait but to wait in good faith, wait with integrity, wait with smile on our face.

Sometimes we can get impatient with God. We get tired of praying because we don’t see anything happening. We often dismiss the fact that we will not always know what God is up to but He is in fact up to something. We just have to have faith in Him, and trust in His word and His timing, because I am not over exaggerating when I say, His timing is perfect.  When we ask God for something we have wait for it. Sometimes we view God as genie. Like all we have to do is pray or fast for a day or two and then we will have everything we ever wanted or needed. God will answer our prayers, and He will give us what we ask for but it’s all in His timing. It’s not always an immediate thing, like we close our eyes and poof everything that we’ve been praying for will be right there in front of us. No there’s some waiting involved, the scripture above tells us so, when we pray for things we don’t have we wait for it patiently. The keyword right there is patience. Everything we need and want, it’s coming we just have to wait patiently for it.

All this to say, don’t get impatient with God, trust in His timing. Trust that everything is coming together and working out we just have to be patient and trust Him. One of the fruits of the spirit is patience, I believe that this is a trait we all must posses because in life there we be a lot of waiting. We must learn to wait with dignity. I know it’s hard especially when we stand in desperate need and we are praying to God with everything and in desperation, but even in those moments, trust His timing.

Also, don’t get impatient with yourself. At our age we often come down on ourselves for not being where we want to be in life. Have patience, not everything will go according to plan but God is in control. God knows where you are and where you will be. Trust me, where you are is exactly where God wants you to be.

Reflection

1. Are you a patient person? Be honest.
2. What moments do you find yourself being impatient?
3. Are you impatient with yourself?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about what it is to be patient and ask Him to help you and teach you how to be patient.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 210!

Day 208: True Colors

Ephesians 5:13

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible--and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

What are your true colors? What do they look like? I’ve always heard people say, especially when they’re angry at someone or felt betrayed, “Thank you for showing me your true colors.” Meaning you're not the person I thought you were. You’re not the person you have been pretending to be. Many times people make mistakes and it ruins how people view them. Other times people have ulterior motives that are revealed. Whatever the situation may be our true colors will always be revealed. There are a few things I’d like to point out today.

Showing our true colors is not always a bad thing. We are almost never the people others think we are at first sight. Sometimes our true personality isn’t revealed until someone really gets to know us. We all have an ‘idea’ of who we think people are when we first meet or see them. I think the problem with this is, and it’s something I pray about all the time, we often assume the worst about people. For me people always say they think I’m mean or find me intimidating. Once you get to know me you find that I am the least intimidating person ever and I’m not mean at all. I  also believe that due to judgements people pass on us before getting to know us we hold back from showing who we truly are. We have to learn to let our colors show and fly no matter what people will think about us or say about us.

Point two, our true selves will be revealed. I don’t know if you all know what it’s like to live a secret life but I do, and the fear of being exposed is unbearable. When I was younger my mom would always tell us, “everything done in the dark will come to light.” I think many of us can look back on our lives and see that at one point we were not the best people we were actually pretty bad and terrible people. We can see a point when we were pretending to be something or someone we’re not. Everything that we do in the dark, will eventually some to light. Everything we try to hide God knows what we’re doing, we cannot hide from God. We must be able to own up to our sin and surrender before God shows who we really are and what’s really going on in our life. We often talk about how people reveal their ‘true colors’ to us when we are hurt and we find out that they aren’t who they say they are. What about when we’ve hurt other people? Everything will come to the light eventually, the question is when the light is flashed over our lives what will be revealed?

Which brings me to my next point. Let your colors be beautiful. When I think about it, it always brings me back to the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness. Let these colors show. When people see our true colors let them see love and joy, patience goodness, all the fruits of the spirit. These should be our true colors. It’s not always a bad thing, it can be and actually is a good thing. Let it show, let it fly.

All this to say, be a good person, live right according to the word and will of God. Let you true colors be beautiful.

Reflection

1. When people see your true colors, what are they seeing?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about what we discussed today, Have a conversation with Him about your true colors, reveal to Him you heart and surrender to Him everything.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 209!

Day 207: Life Advice Part 2

Acts 17:25

nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Job 33:4

"The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

I want to focus today on that fact that God blew breath into each and every one of us. The life He has given us is ours, the breath HE has given us is ours. It is our choice what we do with that life. For me I choose to live my life dedicated to Christ because after all He has done for me, it’s the least I can do.

Throughout the last six years of my life I have learned the valuable lesson that my life is mine, no one else's. No one else can live this life for me, no one else can control my my life. It’s mine and I get to choose how I live it. For a long time I lived my life for other people, not even God. Living and doing things because of expectations and fear of letting people down. When all along I was letting myself down and I was not living the way God planned for me to live. When I finally decided to live my life completely dedicated to Christ, that is when I started living for myself. I stopped letting people dictate what my life will look like and stop letting people tell me how to live. The only person to tell me how to live is God. The only person I owe my life to is Christ. Many times when people are  significant in our lives we feel like we owe them something. We feel like we have to live our lives for them because they played a huge role in us growing or taking care of us. This happens a lot of times with our parents or guardians, we feel like we have live our lives for them because they “gave us life”. Now I’m not telling you to disrespect or rebel against your parents, what I’m saying is that God gave us life, our parents were merely vessels He used them to bring us into this world. He trusted them with our life, He gave us to them to be taken care of and nurtured. Our parents teach us and raise us into the people we are today.

We only owe our life to God. I want to break this down a bit because right now it seems like two opposing sides. Do I love for myself or do I live for God? It’s a tough subject because we are taught to be selfless we are taught to give up our life to live for Christ. This is all true, as Christians we devote our lives to living for Christ, and we live every day of our lives with Christ. However, God has given us free will, so we must make this choice for ourselves, no one can force us to make it, it is our decision. I believe the best decision we can make for ourselves is choosing to live for God. Now this does not take away from our lives, it actually enhances our way of living and enhances our life. . Living our life for ourselves and living our life for God should not be separate.  

All this to say, this is your life, God has given it to you to live. I know their are people that we want to please and make proud and there is nothing wrong with wanting to make people proud. The only person we are here to please is God. The only person we have to dedicate our life to is Christ. You live your life for yourself and I mean this in a spiritual and natural way. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that your spiritual life is in tip top shape. But also in your everyday life, live for you. Enjoy your life, you only get one. God gave it to you, I’m sure He wants you to live it to the fullest. Don’t live your life allowing other people to dictate who you are and what you should do. You know who you are, you’ve found your identity in Christ. Live. This is your life. You get to choose how you live, and as long as your life lines up with the word of God you are good.   

Reflection

1. Do you allow others to dictate your life?
2. Are you living your life for someone else?
3. Make the decision to live your life for you.

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about what we discussed today.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and have an open discussion. Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 208!

Day 206: Life Advice Part 1

Throughout my twenty-four years of living I have heard many people say, “Know your weaknesses.” While that is important, I believe that it is just as important if not more to know your strengths. If we know our strengths, tackling our weaknesses won’t be so hard. We are not defined by how weak we are, however in our weaknesses we are made strong. We find strength in God.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Romans 5:3-5

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We all have our strengths and we all have  our weaknesses and most of us know what they are. Some of us tend to capitalize on our strengths, while others tend to work on their weaknesses. I believe that a healthy balance of both is good for us. Many of us fall into the latter category. While I believe that it is important for us to find our weaknesses and want to strengthen those areas of our lives, it is also important that we are not defined by  it. We will run into areas in our life where it feels like a breeze but then we will run into times that leave us a little weak, that seem a bit harder. It’s in those times that we look to God for strength and learn endurance. As the scripture states above, endurance builds character.

It takes a humble and strong person to admit their weaknesses. God uses our weaknesses to build us up. He strengthens us and gives us a means to lean on and trust Him. We can’t be good at everything or strong in every area of our life. Like a baby grows over time, so do we. This is something that I have learned over time. As much as I want to be, I am not Wonder Woman, even she  has weaknesses. As human beings there are going to be times when we are weak, but in those weaknesses God is made strong. And it is through the power of God that we receive strength.  

All this to say, know your strengths and knows your weaknesses. In everything, in every area of your life, lean on God, Turn to God, and depend on Him. He is strength.

Psalms 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Reflection

1. Do you know your strengths and your weaknesses?
2. Do you tend to capitalize on your strengths or strengthen your weaknesses?
   
   

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Talk to God about your strengths and confess to Him the areas of your life where you feel weak.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 207!

Day 205: Recap!

Day 198: If You Love Me

Today we talked about how we love God, and how we are to live in honor of that. We talked about how loving God is not complicated all we have to do is live the way He has told us to. We focused on John 14:15.

"I believe the bible is full of formulas telling us the secrets of life. He’s given us another one, quite simple, if you love me obey me. That simple, He doesn’t say anything else, just obey me. Now if we really love God this will not be a problem."

Day 199: For God So Loved the World

Today we talked about God loving us. We talked about how we usually find it hard to believe that God loves us, and how we sometime exclude ourselves when talking about God loving the world. We focused on John 3:16. 

"It’s important that we constantly return to the cross because that’s where everything changed. We can get so caught up in the theological aspect of it all that we forget the simple yet profound aspect of it. Jesus loves us, so much that He took on our sin and died in our place."

Day 200: Right in Front of You

Today we talked about how we are sometimes looking for something that is right in front of us. Sometimes we are looking for Jesus but overlooking Him. We focused on John20:11-16.

"Are we overlooking Jesus? Are we searching for Him without realizing that He is right in front of us. He is standing right there and we are so overcome with our own personal troubles, and concerns that we don’t see that He is right there."

Day 201: Check Yourself

Today we talked about dealing with ourselves before we even think about dealing with someone else. We talked about being able to look at ourselves first, and be teachable before trying to teach. We focused on Romans 2:21-24, Matthew 7:3-5, and John8:7-9.

" We can’t be a Christian for all of two minutes and then think we have so much together that we can start telling other people how to live. We need to learn how to live like Christ first, before we can teach anyone else. We have some specks in our eyes that need to be removed before we can even start to see clearly."

Day 202: Those 3 Days

Today we talked about living without Jesus and what those three days without Him were like. We talked about how that can be the equivalent to when we choose to walk away from God and live a life of sin. We focused on John 20:19.

"I can imagine those three days without Jesus as what it’s like when we choose to walk away from Him and ignore Him. My mom used to always tells us, “Leading a life of sin is like nailing Jesus to the cross over and over again.” Our sin hurts Him, it was the reason He had to die. Someone had to pay the price for our sin,  and that someone was Jesus. So every time we decide to walk away it’s like we’re putting Him in that grave all over again. When we decide to live our life without Jesus it’s like we’re putting Him in a tomb and walking away."

Day 203: Comfortable With Who You Are?

Today we talked about how encouraging people to "be who they are" can sometime mean living a life of sin or staying stagnant. How sometimes we are discouraging growth while encouraging comfortability. We focused on 1 Corinthians 13:11.

"We are conditioning people to live and accept a life of sin or a life unfulfilled because in the name of not offending anyone we want you to be comfortable with who you are. We have become more concerned with people’s emotions rather than their souls. It has caused a growing number of stagnation within the body of Christ and humanity as a whole."

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for day 206! Enjoy your day loves!