Living Loved by God

Read Colossians 3:12-17

Paul is speaking to those chosen by God who are holy and beloved. He writes to the Colossian church that those who are chosen were to do several things.

They were to:

A. Put on a heart of compassion.

B. To put on kindness

C. To put on humility

D. To put on gentleness

E. To put on patience

F. Bear with one another

G. Forgive each other just as the Lord had forgiven

And above all these things that he had written they had to put on love. And what love did was bind everything together.

Trying to accomplish anything without love is incomplete. Love should be the driving force behind our actions. If we love the Lord then the love He has given us will cause us to have the desire to please and honor Him with our actions.

Questions for Thought

1. What does perfect harmony or unity look like in your life?

2. What defines your love life?

Father, Lord of heaven and earth. We thank You for the peace that You haven given. Thank You for Your love. Teach us O Lord how to love as You do. Forgive us for walking in our own ways.

Living Loved by God

Read John 13: 31-35

After Judas leaves Jesus to go and betray Him, Jesus begins a discourse about His death with His disciples. He told them that he would be glorified and that God would be glorified in Him. He reminds them that where He is going they cannot come. He gives them a new commandment and this commandment was for them to love one another. But they were not just to love one another they were to love each other as He had love them. The reason they were to love was so that their love would be displayed and others would know that they were His disciples. We are known as disciples because of the way we love one another.

This can be very sobering because often we are not as loving as we should be.

Questions for Thought

1. How did Jesus love?

2. Do we show love to others especially the ones who belong to the body of Christ? Or are we selective in showing our love?

3. Will others recognize us as a disciple by the way we love?

Father, thank You for the teaching of Your Word. Thank You for loving us and leaving us an example of Your love in Your Son. Forgive us Lord for being more preoccupied with self and not showing love as we should. Reveal to us Lord each time we fail to love as Christ loved.

Living Loved by God

Read Psalm 86:1-10

In this Psalm the writer cries out to the Lord. He asked for the Lord to inclined His ear to him. He desires for the Lord to answer him. Clearly he states that he has been afflicted and he is needy. What he was experiencing caused him to cry all day to the Lord. In trouble he calls on the Lord because of what he knows about God and that he trusts God. He is confident that the Lord will answer him. He knows that God is good and ready to forgive. He has abundant love to all who call on Him.

Wow to have such assurance in the Lord that no matter what we face we can know that He hears and will answer.

Questions for Thought

1. When you are in trouble do you go to the Lord and cry out first or do you seek help other places and make the Lord your last resort when all else fails?

2. Do you really believe that He is ready to forgive or do you wallow in your shame instead of asking for forgiveness?

3. Are you confident that the Lord will hear you or do you sometimes doubt?

Father, You are a gracious God abundant in love and kindness, full of mercy and ready to forgive. Forgive us O Lord if we run to others instead of calling on You first. We thank You that You hear the cries of those who seek and trust You. There is no one like You O Lord for You are great and do wonderous deeds.

Living Loved by God

Read 1 John 4:15-22

John lets us know that the only way we can love is if we abide in God and God abides in us. God is love and our ability to love is a result of His love which was given to us when we became believers. We are representation of His love and love should be how we live.

Love is perfected in us when we abide in God and when love is perfected it gives us two things: 1. Confidence in the day of judgment. 2. It cast out fear. If we want not to fear we have to abide in God and love the way He loves. We cannot just claim the promises of God and not follow His word.

Questions for Thought

Q1.Do you love as God loves or do you put conditions on your love?

Q2. Are you fearful of what is to come?

Q3. Are you abiding in God?

Q4. Do you love your brother?

Father, thank You for the perfected love which cast out fear. Show us where we fail to abide in You and failed to love in the way You instruct.

Living Loved by God

Read Isaiah 54:1-10

In this passage the Lord speaks to Israel reminding them of how He will redeem them. He assures them that His compassion will gather them and that his anger was for a moment but He will have an everlasting compassion on them. His loving-kindness will not be removed. The Lord has compassion on them.

The same God that Israel served as a believers in Christ we also serve. His character is love and compassion. He is a God of justice but His Justice is served with compassion to those who are His. It is a comfort to know that the Lord disciplines but He also forgives. It is in Him we find peace. When the Lord forgives He forgives and His Love Remains.

Questions for Thought

1. When you sent do you openly confess your transgression to the Lord or and ask for forgiveness?

2. Do you rest in the knowledge that God’s forgiveness is full of compassion or do you rehearse your shame over and over?

Father we honor Your Name Lord our redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the Earth. Thank You for Your compassion and love. Thank You O Lord that when we have failed to be obedient we can come and ask for forgiveness and You will forgive.

Living Loved by God

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20

Here the Lord is giving a prophecy about the restoration of the remnant of Israel. They are told to shout for joy and in triumph. Rejoice and exalt with all their heart. Why should they express themselves in such a way? One reason is because the Lord told them to. The second reason is because of all He will do. What did the Lord do? He took away their judgments against them. He cleared away their enemies. He will gather them together. He exalts over them with joy. He turned their shame into praise. He will be queit in His love. He will restore their fortunes and so much more. They are told not to fear or to be afraid. Why? Because the Lord is in their mist. How was the Lord described? He is described as a Victorious Warrior.

Questions for Thought

Do you serve the same God that delivered Israel? If so, what does knowing that the Lord God is a Victorious Warrior speak to you?

Father, we bless and honor Your holy name. Thank You for saving us. We praise You that we have no reason to fear or be afraid.

Living Loved by God

Read Ephesians 3:14-21

This passage is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Church. We can also pray this prayer today. His prayer was that:

♥️They would be strengthened with power through His (Father) Spirit in the inner man.

♥️That Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith.

♥️That they would be rooted and grounded in love.

♥️To know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.

♥️To be filled up to all fullness of God.

Since God is love to be filled with God means we are full of love.

Question for Thought

Is this your prayer for yoyrself and others, to be so full of God that His love just oozes out of you?

Father, glorious and wonderful is Your name. Help us to know and comprehend the breath, length, height and depth of Your love. Thank You for loving us.

Challenge

Write out a prayer from this passage of scripture and include your name and the names of the others that you can pray for. Then spend this week praying this prayer.

Living Loved by God

Read Lamentations 3:19-25

Here the writer of Lamentations is remembering the despair he felt after the destruction of Jerusalem. But what is so encouraging is that in the mist of his despair he remembers that there is hope in the Lord. That God’s love and kindness never ceases and compassion never fails. God’s compassion and mercy is new every morning. God is good to those who wait on him and seek him.

Questions for Thought

In times when you feel in despair what does your heart remember?

Do you consider each morning how magnificent it is to know His mercy and compassion are new every day or do you continue to complain and forget?

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your mercy which is new every morning. Forgive us if we complained instead of praising.

My Glass Jar

During the month of November many do some form of a gratitude activity. Whether they use a journal, scripture posting or saying what they are thankful for. I have seen some very creative activities.  

However about two years ago I came across an idea about a “Thankfulness Can”. The activity encouraged people to get a can and to write whenever the Lord would do something for them on a slip of paper and put in the can throughout the year. And at the end of the year on New Year’s Eve they would open the can and read and thank the Lord for all the things that He did with them during the course of the year. 

I thought this was such a neat idea. Well I kind of embellished on it a little bit. Because I love jars and color I got a mason jar. I cut slips of paper and put them in the jar. And periodically throughout the course of the last couple of years I have grabbed the jar and wrote down various small things that the Lord has done for me. 

I have not open the jar yet because it’s not full. My glass jar is my representation of my gratitude to the Lord throughout the years. For me it’s inexpensive and it’s not governed by time. When my little jar becomes full I will open it up and begin to praise the Lord as I read each slip of paper for the things he has done. 

We often remember the big things that God does for us , those major circumstances that the Lord delivers us from; we don’t forget those. It’s the small things that the Lord does for us on a daily basis that sometimes just plainly get overlooked. 

We could often slip into complacency as well as a complaining attitude because of the things going our life. 

I tend to do things not just for a month I usually like to spread it out over time. 

So I thought I would share this idea and maybe you can find a variation that works for you. You may want to do a can or glass jar or decorative box. You might do your activity monthly where you put the slips of paper in it and at the end of the month praise the Lord for what he did that month. You can even do it quarterly, semi-annually or annually. The great thing about this idea is that you can make it your own. It’s not costly or time consuming. You can be as creative as you want or you can keep it plain. The purpose behind this activity is to remain faithful to the Lord no matter what you may go through. It’s to have a place to go on days when you feel like no one’s listening or that you’ve been waiting a long time for answer to prayer and reflect over what He has done. It’s a great reminder that the Lord is concerned about every area of our life even small size things. 

So if you think this is a great activity or something you’d be interested in doing why not share with me in the comments what you going to do about your gratitude for this year.