Your Daily Devotional for August 31, 2007

 

August 31,  2007

 

 

An Active Love

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

 

1 John 4:7-11

 

 

A husband was coming out of anesthesia after a series of tests in the hospital. His wife was sitting at his bedside when his eyes fluttered open and he muttered, "You are beautiful." Flattered, the wife continued sitting beside him. Later he woke up again and said, "You're cute!"  "What happened to beautiful?" she asked. "The drugs are wearing off," the husband replied. Emotional love can wear off, but God desires us to have an active love. He wants us to show our love for others.

 

This past month, we have focused on God's Ten Commandments to us. We have gone through each one and explained how we can obey His commands. As we come to the end of our focus on God's commands, I pray that what we have seen has inspired you to live for God. The Christian life isn't centered on a list of rules and regulations, but on a relationship with Christ.

 

We also learned that God's greatest command wasn't given with His other commandments in Exodus. While He was on earth, the Pharisees questioned Him and asked what the greatest commandment was. He answered in Matthew 22:37-39, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." God's greatest command is that we love Him and love others.

 

One way we can love others is by being kind. We often teach young children to be kind to others, but it would do us all well to remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is not only a well-known phrase, but it is biblically based! God desires that we show our love to others by being kind.

 

Also, we should love others by serving them. First Corinthians 13:5 says, "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil." The phrase "seeketh not her own" tells us that true love is concerned with serving others. When someone we love needs something, it should be an instinct for us to go out of our way to help them. But even when we don't necessarily love someone, we should serve them because God has commanded us to.

 

Last, we must love others by giving to them. When you say the word give, some people will automatically tune you out! But God desires that we would show others our love by giving to them. It doesn't have to be money, and it doesn't have to be something big. It could be a note to tell them how much you love them or that you're praying for them. It could be time spent listening to how they are doing, letting them know you care. It does not matter how much you give them, but that they see your love for them.

 

God desires that we let others see our love for them. How did those around you see your love yesterday? Could they tell that you loved them? Think of a few ways you can show your love to someone today. Ask God to help you show His love through your actions today.

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 132-134 • 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

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Your Daily Devotional for August 30, 2007

 

August 30,  2007

 

 

Love Your God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

 

Romans 13:8-9

 

 

George Matheson was only fifteen when he was told he was losing what little eyesight he had. Not to be denied, Matheson continued with his plans to enroll in the University of Glasgow, and his determination led to his graduating at age nineteen. But his spirit collapsed when his fiancée, unwilling to be married to a blind man, broke their engagement and returned his ring. He never married, and the pain of that rejection never totally left him.

 

Years later, as a well-loved pastor in Scotland, his sister came to him, announcing her engagement. He rejoiced with her, but his mind went back to his own heartache. He consoled himself in thinking of God's love. Out of this experience he wrote the hymn, "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" which says: O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths it flow, May richer, fuller be.

 

Yesterday we saw how God desires for us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. God has given us His Ten Commandments but He has also commanded us to love Him. We learned yesterday that we must make our love for God personal by spending time with Him each day and by having a correct view of His love for us. Today we will see how we can have a devoted love for God.

 

We can have a devoted love by loving God in each area of our lives. We have learned that He commands us to love Him with our heart, soul, and mind, but how exactly can we do that? How can we have a devoted love for God?

 

First, we must love God with our whole hearts. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." God desires for you to seek Him with your whole heart. It can often be easy to go about the day without focusing our hearts on God. We may get so busy or so caught up in our daily routines that we fail to focus our hearts on God. Love Him with your whole heart by seeking to please Him in all you do.

 

Second, we must love God with our soul. Psalm 34:2 says, "My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." God desires that we would love Him with our soul by worshipping Him. We saw in God's fifth commandment that we should renew our spirit and strength each Sunday in God's house. Here we see that God desires that we would focus our soul on worshipping Him. We must take our time in God's house seriously and show Him our love by focusing on drawing closer to Him.

 

Last, we must love God with our minds. Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." God wants our minds to be stayed on Him. We must not let the thoughts and ideas of this world consume our minds, but we must be thinking on godly things. When we place God before all other thoughts in our minds, we show Him our love.

 

Do you love God with your whole heart, soul, and mind? Spend time with God now and commit to loving Him more today. Let Him be on your heart and mind as you go about your day today. Also, focus your soul on drawing closer to Him this Sunday.

 

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 129-131 • 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

 

 

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Your Daily Devotional for August 29, 2007

 

August 29,  2007

 

 

The Greatest Commandment

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

 

Matthew 22:34-38

 

 

I once heard the story of how a pastor and his wife adopted their child: "My wife and I waited fifteen years for a child that never came naturally. However, we were approached one day with a lead of a baby not yet born. I remember standing in front of the judge on our day of adoption. He pointed his finger and asked of me, 'Is anyone coercing you to adopt this little boy?' After we had assured him that we were doing so out of love for our son, he made this statement. 'From today on, he is your son. He may disappoint you, even grieve you, but he is your son. Everything you own one day will be his, and he will bear your name.'" This is exactly what happened to each of us on the day of our salvation. Because of God's love and the sacrifice of His Son, He adopted us into His family.

 

Over the past month we have focused on the Ten Commandments. We have learned that God desires that we live our lives in accordance to these commands. But there is one other command God has given us that we have not yet discussed. It is not found in the Old Testament with the other commandments. Rather, we see it in our verses today, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Matthew 22:36-37)

 

God tells us that we are to love Him with the three parts of our being—our heart, soul, and mind. Over the next few days we will see how we can love God with our whole being. Today, let's see how we can make our love for God personal.

 

When we spend time in God's Word each day, we show our love for God. We must personally spend time with God! Although love has been defined as a feeling in today's world, we must realize that love is shown through action. When you love someone, you do nice things for them and you spend time with them. This is no different in our relationship with God. We show our love for God by spending time with Him.

 

We must also have a correct view of God's love for us. Many times we do not make time for God in our busy days because we do not see how much God loves us. Sit down right now and read John 19. Read it, and put yourself in Christ's place. Imagine receiving your just punishment. Now think of the love that God has for us that led Him to sacrifice His only Son to die in our place. Friend, God loves us so much that He gave Himself so that we may live with Him one day. How much do we love Him?

 

We show God our love for Him by spending time with Him. God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, yet if we are not in His Word each day, our love has not become personal. How is your time with God? Do you rush through it or even skip it when time is short? God loved us enough to give His Son to die in our place! We must love Him enough to spend time with Him each day. Take time to separate yourself from any distractions right now. Spend time with God, and make your love for Him personal.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 126-128 • 1 Corinthians 10:19-33

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