Good morning! I want encourage you with two words – Keep loving. Enjoy today’s devotion and prayer.

Bible Verse – 1 John 4:17-21 NLT

“¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

¹⁸ Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. ¹⁹ We love each other because he loved us first.

²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?  ²¹ And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.”

Reflection

Last week and this week we read about God’s love for us, our love for God and the command to love God and love fellow believers. It never stated we had to agree with everything other believers say or do, but it does call us to love other believers and in doing so – we pray for them too.

Let’s look at a few growth questions.

• as we live in God, our love grows more perfect – How do you think your life will change if you begin to live more intimately with God? How will that change begin to show up in your relationships at home, at work, with friends, and others?
• And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. – What needs to change in your life to not only love God, but to also love fellow believers?

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for sending your son Jesus so that we can be saved, reconciled to You, and not be afraid on the day of judgment, but be able to face You with confidence because we have decided to live like Jesus here in this world.

Lord God, there is no doubt that we want to live like Jesus, but it is very hard on our own. We need You to guide us, nurture us, continue to extend Your grace, and teach us to see you in our actions and the guidance we share with others.

Lord, we don’t want to live in the fear of never being good enough to enter heaven. Lord, on our own we know we will never be good enough, we can never do enough, and we can never love enough to get us to heaven with our works. We acknowledge that we need a Savior – Jesus Christ and it is by grace and our belief in Him that we have been saved. Lord, we want to fully experience Your perfect love in our lives and in the lives of others. Lord, bless us to be able to boldly share your love for everyone.

Lord, continue to work in us. Continue to chip away at our hearts and character. Shape us the way you can best use us. Build us up in your word and keep us living it out humbly in all our interactions with others. Lord, be with the person who was never taught the truth of your word. Send others/us to share the word of God – the gospel truth in word and by display of our lives living fully for you.

Lord, heal the man suffering with gout. Help him to be able to move freely without pain. Help the husband and wife who are working on their business. Help them to get their business license without delay or issues. Lord, bring the client base that you desire and help lives to begin to be transformed in Jesus name. Lord, we pray for those suffering with chronic medical conditions (e.g., arthritis, dementia, MS, high/low blood pressure, migraines, mental health issues, diabetes, etc.). Lord, help them and the doctors to effectively manage pain, medications, changes in exercise and diet, and the will to be disciplined to care for their health condition and themselves. Lord, continue to work in us and strengthen us during this season of hope. Thank you again for being the answer to all of our prayers. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

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