Category Archives: Daily Devotional

Messages from the daily devotional

Gentle Love

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Day 23 – Gentle Love

ephesians_4_2-3 imageThis love also pulls from the Fruit of the Spirit. Many of the same qualities and characteristics apply to eros love. When we [marrieds] are humble, gentle, patience, working together, and maintaining unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace our eros love will be very active.

Spend some time in prayer with your spouses and work out anything that is an obstacle to your marriage. We all have at least one obstacle. Many times it’s as simple as an attitude we have about something. Allow the Holy Spirit to check you. Humble yourselves before God and allow Him to clear it up. I’ve been there. I know.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Burning Love | Love in Marriage

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Day 22 – Burning Love | Love in Marriage

For the next four days I’ll share about eros love.
Eros is a passionate and intense love that arouses romantic feelings; it is the kind that often triggers “high” feelings in a new relationship and makes you say, “I love you”. It is simply an emotional and sexual love. Although this romantic love is important in a new relationship, it may not last unless it moves a notch higher because it focuses more on self instead of the other person. If the person “in love” does not feel good about their relationship anymore, they will stop loving their partner. Remember, love is a choice!

Song-of-Solomon image

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 Close your heart to every love but mine; hold no one in your arms but me. Love is as powerful as death; passion is as strong as death itself. It bursts into flame and burns like a raging fire. Water cannot put it out; no flood can drown it. But if any tried to buy love with their wealth, disrespect is all they would get.

Like previous messages, our love needs to be unconditional and unselfish. Loving with this kind of love [a burning passion] involves immense emotion. We must not allow our emotion to control our feelings. Many bad decisions and actions have been made under an emotional state. Seek Apape love first. Trust the Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance to really feel eros love. This type of love is expressed in Song of Solomon because eros love is from God. God created all types of love.

Prayer: Father Yahweh, I seek Your love overall. I pray that my love for my spouse is unconditional. I pray I choose to love my spouse without question, because You made love and You are love. When I love You, I love my spouse. Thank You for the love You give. I pray all this in the name of Jesus, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

We are Commanded to Love One Another

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Day 21 – We are Commanded to Love One Another

John 15 imageJohn 15:9-17 says: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

The Greek word, translated to “abide”, literally means “to stay” or “to remain”.

The meaning here is crucial because it places the responsibility for “abiding” on us. That is to say, that if we are not walking with God, it is not God who has abandoned us, but it is us who has abandoned God. Jesus, here, is urging us to not flee from God.

The “love” Jesus is talking about requires a decision to “keep (His) commandments”. Jesus examines “love” by its actions.

On one level, this criteria for “love” should impact many of our human relationships. No doubt, we will say that we love our children, that we love our parents, and that we love our spouse–the question is: do our actions support that claim?

Many of us are eager to love and to be loved, but we often want to love on our terms. Keep in mind that if God’s love for us depended on us living up to His expectations no one in the world would be loved by God. The type of love that Jesus has for His disciples is unmerited love. If we are to love others as Jesus loves us, we must not make our love for others conditional on their behaviour. God loves us unconditionally; so we are to love unconditionally.

Prayer: Dear Yahweh, Father, my prayer is that we would love one another with Your kind of love, not the love we love with. Teach us, O’ Adonai, Yahweh! In Your precious name, Jesus, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

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Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus is quoting from Leviticus 19 (http://biblia.com/bible/ncv/Le19.9-18).

matt_22-39 imageNotice that loving our neighbor would include sharing with the poor and the alien; compassion and absolute honesty and justice in our relationships with others; impartiality; a refusal to be a party to gossip or slander; an absence of malice toward anyone and a refusal to bear a grudge; taking care never to put another’s life at risk and never taking private vengeance upon another. It is also interesting to note that when we have an issue with anyone, we should strive to make it right by going to him or her directly. James calls this the “royal law” (James 2:8). Our Lord taught that we should do to others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12).

It is a fact that anyone who does not have a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ will die in his sins and face eternity in hell. Therefore, we owe it to our neighbors to lovingly share with them the good news of the gospel. True believers have been forgiven, possess eternal life, and have blessings forever as the result of others who have shared the gospel with them. God’s love is evidenced in us as we communicate this precious gospel and love others as we have been loved.

Prayer: Dear Father Yahweh, I seek to be loving to my neighbor. I pray that I will share the gospel with those You put in my path. Thank You for Your gift of salvation and that I would share my testimony including my being saved and reborn. In the name of Your precious Son, Jesus, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Love Your Neighbor and Love Your Enemy

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LoveYourEnemy imageDay 19-Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy

Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

We saw in previous day’s messages where God’s word tells us that if we do not love Him we don’t love God. God is love. He loved us all so much he gave us Jesus as our Savior. Jesus willingly gave His life for us. That’s love. The least I can do is love God and all people, because He does too.

When God sent Jesus as The Savior of the world He had in mind to show love to all people. He loves friend and fo. He tells us to also love not only our friends but also our enemies.

You’ve heard to expression: “Killing them with kindness” and “Keep a friend close, but an enemy even closer”? Even if you’re persecuted, you show love. The Bible is full of stories of this love being expressed. Read it for yourselves. Share what you find.

Prayer: Dear Father Yahweh, I pray that we can can love even our enemies, as You do. Help us be like YOU. In Jesus’ name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Born to Love

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Day 18 – Born to Love

This next section I’ll be sharing about storge love, which is: a kind of familial and brotherly love. This is the love that parents naturally feel for their children; the love that members of the family have for each other; or the love that friends feel for each other.

romans 12-10 imageIn Romans 12:10 we find an interesting compound: philostorgos is translated as “be devoted.” The word combines philos and storge and means “to cherish one’s kindred.” Believers in Christ, children of the same heavenly Father, are to “be devoted to one another in love.” As part of God’s family, we should show loving affection toward each other and be prone to love.

I know. Sometimes it is tough. However, we must lay aside our selfishness and learn to be loving. Devoted even. Jesus did. So should we!

Prayer: Dear Father Yahweh, teach us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honoring the other before ourselves. Teach us to be like You! In Your precious name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Neighbor & Your Enemy
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Born of God

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1John-4_7-8 imageDay 17 – Born of God

Know God. Love God. Being born of God you will desire to love others, even your enemies.

It says in 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

It also says in John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Without love, we do not have God. Without God we would live in torment. I’ve been there… It’s not a pretty place to be. In fact, it’s just like it says… torment. Torment is defined as severe physical and mental agony. I was holding onto the hurt of my past. In fact, clinging tightly to it. Until I let it go, the Holy Spirit couldn’t work in me.

Seek to forgive and seek forgiveness for yourself. Release the torment. Expel it. Let the Holy Spirit in. Let God’s love in and be blessed. God is love!

Prayer: Dear Father Yahweh, I lift up the reader of this devotion to You. I ask that the Holy Spirit would grip their heart with Your love causing them to let go and let Your love in cleansing them of the torment. Therefore, in return they would love everyone, as You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Enemy & Your Neighbor
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Patient Love

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Ephesians_4-2 imageDay 16 – Patient Love

We all have our faults. It’s just the way life is. There’s going to be times when we get on each other’s nerves. However, God commands us to be patient in love with each other. We must make allowance for these faults. Be accepting and love anyway.

It’s hard to be upset or mad when you’re expressing true love. Just like yesterday’s message, it’s a choice. We choose to love and serve each other.

It’s an honor to be a child of God.

Prayer: Dear Father Yahweh, I seek to be patient in love. I pray for my fellow sisters in Christ to be patient in love as well. Thank You for the gift of love. We know that You are love. I pray that we will allow Your love to speak into our lives as well as from our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Enemy & Your Neighbor
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Free to Love

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galatians-513 imageDay 15 – Free to Love

The Gift of Salvation is our get out of jail free pass that is permanent. However, having that freedom doesn’t give us license to be sinners. It’s a certificate of honor, a covenant between you and God. It’s a pledge to be God’s servant. A servant of joy, peace, kindness, etc.

We love with God’s love [Agape] and it compels us to serve one another in love. With that love you have phileo love.

You choose to love and serve each other. It’s a choice. You choose. I personally choose to love and serve. In doing so I am blessed. Each one can be blessed by choosing to love and serve.

What a Mighty God we serve! Praise Him!

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father Yahweh, I pray for the almighty work of God to reach into our souls and spirits to love us in such a way that we want to give love and serve you and people. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another  DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit  Day 12 – Love Everyone  Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love  Day 13 – Love Each Other  Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love  Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day  Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master?  Day 15 – Free to Love  Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal  Day 16 – Patience Love  Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love  Day 17 – Born of God  Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors  Day 18 – Born to Love  Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me  Day 19 – Love Your Enemy & Your Neighbor
Day 10 – Adopted  Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Happy Valentine’s Day

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Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day

Vday-1Peter imageRemembering from day 13’s message… Love each other deeply with all your heart. With the Holy Spirit living in you love can flow like a fountain!

Loving each other is a command from God. In Matthew 22:35-40 it says:

One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?” Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”

These commands are not to be taken lightly. It’s serious business.

Today, everywhere we turn we can hear someone saying they “love” someone or something. Do they realize what they’re saying? I don’t think humanity completely understands the true meaning of what love means.

True real love reflects what took place on the cross with Jesus crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. It was a choice. He chooses to love us. But, the love is so much more than just a choice. It’s the actions, the emotion, and everything in between involved.

What actions of choice do you make toward a love like this?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father Yahweh, I pray that we fully grasp the true meaning of love and put it into action. In Your precious holy name, amen.

List of message series:

Day 1 – Love According to God Day 11 – Love One Another DAY 21 – WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Day 2 – Fruit of the Spirit Day 12 – Love Everyone Day 22 – Burning Love – Love in Marriage
Day 3 – God’s Love Day 13 – Love Each Other Day 23 – Gentle Love
Day 4 – Agape Love Day 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day Day 24 – One Mind  and Purpose
Day 5 – Who’s Your Master? Day 15 – Free to Love Day 25 – Love is a Verb
Day 6 – Life Eternal Day 16 – Patience Love Day 26 – Steadfast Love
Day 7 – His Great Love Day 17 – Born of God Day 27 – Love Forgives
Day 8 – More Than Conquerors Day 18 – Born to Love Day 28 – Love in Marriage
Day 9 – God, Who Gave Himself For Me Day 19 – Love Your Enemy & Your Neighbor
Day 10 – Adopted Day 20 – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself