40 Days of Love ACBC FINAL - Ancient City Baptist Church

40DaysofLove

“’LovetheLordyourGodwillallyourheartandwithallyoursoulandwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.’

‘Loveyourneighborasyourself.’Thereisnocommandmentgreaterthanthese”

(Mark12.30-31).

AncientCityBaptistChurch27SevillaSt.,SaintAugustine,FL32084

www.ancientcitybaptist.org(904)829-3476

FredO.Pitts,Pastor

Welcometothe40DaysofLove!

The40DaysofLovebeginsSunday,February14,2021,andgoesthroughThursday,March25,2021.

When Jesus was asked to identify the greatest of all thecommandmentsthatGodhadgiven,Hewasnotabletolimitittojustone. This iswhatHe said: “Themost important one is this: ‘Hear, OIsrael,theLordourGod,theLordisone.LovetheLordyourGodwithallyourheartandwithallyoursoulandwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.’Thesecondisthis:‘Loveyourneighborasyourself.’There isno commandmentgreater than these” (Mark12.30-31).Buthowdowe loveGod?Ourneighbors?Ourselves?That’swhat the40DaysofLoveisdesignedfor—togivepracticalencouragementinhowtoloveGod,others,andselfaccordingtoGod’sideasoflove!Weareexcitedthatyouwillbejoiningusinthisjourney!Theformatissimple:thereisashort(onepage)“chapter”foreachofthe40days.Wepray that itwillbothencourageyouandequipyou inyourdesiretoloveGod,others,andyourself!

Thisemphasis ispartofourplanofbalancedChristian livingwecallDiscipleLIFE.EveryChristianshouldgrowinhead,heart,hands,andfeet.Statedsimply:• ADiscipleLearns(HEAD)• ADiscipleLoves(HEART)• ADiscipleServes(HANDS)• ADiscipleShares(FEET)Whiletheprimaryemphasisof40DaysofLove istheheart,youwillnoticethatitincludesallfourcomponentsofgrowth.Thanks,andmayGodblessusallthroughthe40DaysofLove.© 2017, 2021 Fred O. Pitts Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORDrequireofyou?Toact justlyandto lovemercyandtowalkhumblywithyourGod. (Micah6.8)HowareyoudoinginyourwalkwithGod?That’satoughquestionformanypeople.HowdoIevenstartansweringit?IsitbasedonhowIthinkGodistreatingme?IsitbasedonhowIfeel—whetherthingsaregoingwellinmyownlifeorhowcloselyIthinkIamkeepingtothe“straightandnarrow”path?WhoisthejudgeofhowIamdoing inmywalkwithGod—me,God, thepastor, thechurch,alloftheabove?Inmanyareasoflife,evaluationiseasier.Ifmygoalistogetmyweighttoacertainlevel,Icangetonthescaleeachdaytomonitormyprogress.Inschool,gradesaregiventhatevaluateourprogress.Manyjobsincludeperiodicreviewsandthepossibilityofbonusesforworkwelldone.Wemeasureourchildreninvariouswaystonotetheirprogress.Ifexpectedgrowthdoesn’t seem tobe takingplace,we try to bindout if thereareunderlyingissuessothatwecantakecorrectiveaction.Itseemstobehardertomeasurespiritualgrowth,becauseitis,well—spiritual. It is not as tangible. But while it may be harder, it is notimpossible tomeasurespiritualgrowth.Wehaveput togetheramodelthatissimple,memorable,and(hopefully)helpful:Adisciplegrowsin“head,heart,hands,andfeet.”Jesussaid,“Learnfromme…”Adisciplelearns.(Head)Jesussaid,“LoveGod…Loveneighborasself.”Adiscipleloves.(Heart)Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be yourservant.”Adiscipleserves.(Hands)Jesussaid,“Go…andmakedisciples.”Adiscipleshares.(Feet)Obviously,we canunpack thesequite a bitmore—andmust, to insurethesearemajorthemesofJesusand,indeed,allofScriptureandnotjustthepickingoutofminorthemesthatweseemtolike.Then there are stages of development: briebly, they are “pre-birth,”“infancy,”“growth,”and“maturity.”(SeeEphesians4.11-16.)ThismodelhelpsusevaluateourwalkwithGod.Fromtimetotimewehaveamajoremphasisononeof thecomponents tohelpus focusourgrowthinthatarea.Earlier,wehaveembarkedon40DaysofSharing,emphasizingourneed to reachout toothers, and40DaysofServing,emphasizing our responsibility to serve others with the gifts God hasgiventous.Welookforwardto40DaysofLearninginthefuture.Today, though,weembarkona journeycalled40DaysofLove.Aswebegin,let’sprayforGodtodoagreatworkofloveinusall.Dothatnow!

DAY1

BALANCEDGROWTHA“Measure”ofFaith

Jesusanswered,“Themostimportantoneisthis:'Hear,OIsrael,theLordourGod,theLordisone.LovetheLordyourGodwithallyourheartandwithallyoursoulandwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.'” (Mark12.29-30)OnedayoneoftheexpertsintheLawaskedJesusaquestion:“Ofallthecommandments, which one is the greatest?” Now, for us today, aquestionlikethatmightseemtobemerelyanintellectualexerciseoramatterofcuriosity—kindoflikeaskingascientistwhichdiscoverymostfascinatedhimoraskingamoviecritichisopinionof thegreatest bilmevermade.Butwemustrememberthecontextofthisquestion.FortheJews—and especially for these scribes, these experts in the Law—thecommandmentsofGodwereeverything!TheyhadcountedthenumberoflawsgivenintheLaw.Theyweremeticulousinseekingtoobeyeachone to the letter of the law. In the commandments, those who wereseriousaboutthemfoundtheirverylife,theirexistence.Withthisunderstanding, thequestiontakesonanewemphasis forus.Essentially,thescribewasasking,“Whatisthemeaningoflife?”Atleast,that’s thewaywewould phrase it today. Thiswas no question of idlecuriosityortheseekingofmereopinion.Thisexpert,certainlydesiringto“sizeup”Jesus,wasaskingHimtheultimatequestionoflifeitself.HisanswerwouldhelpthescribemakehisowndecisionaboutthisteachernamedJesus.Whatisthemeaningoflife?That’saquestionweallmustask.Andtheanswerwegivedetermineseverythingelseaboutlife—ourgoals,ourambitions,ourlivelihood,ourvalues,ourchoices,ourpriorities—everything!JesustellsusthattheultimatemeaningoflifeiswrappedupinloveforGod. He, of course, is quoting from words Moses had uttered to theIsraelitesashewas leading themoutof slaveryand into thePromisedLand.Andwearetoldhow to loveGod—withallourheart,soul,mind,and strength. I encourage you tomeditate on each part of this phraseandhowitappliestoyou.Wewilltakeacloserlookatthissoon,butthisneedstobeattheforefrontofourthinkingconstantly!Ifthisisthetruemeaningoflife,surelywemustevergiveattentiontoit.Think of it: we have been given all these commands to “do this” and“don’tdothat.”Whileeachishelpful,itcanbeeasytogetboggeddownin the minutiae of dotting i’s and crossing t’s. And many had gottensidetrackedinsuch“legalism”—andmanystilldo.ButJesustellsusthatthemeaningoflifeisallaboutlove.TheGodoftheuniversecreatedyouforlove!Islovethetruemeaningofyourlife?Thinkaboutit…

DAY2

ILOVEGOD!TheGreatestCommandment

WelovebecauseHefirstlovedus. (1John4.19)Someonemayask,“WhydoesGodcommandmetoloveHim?Shouldn’tthatbeuptome?WhydoesGodneedmyloveanyway?”Weallhaveadesiretobeloved,andGodisnodifferentinthatdesire.ItwouldbemorecorrecttosaythatwearelikeHim,becausewearemadeinHisimage.AndGodhasrevealedtousthatloveisthesupremevaluefor theeternalsoul.TheapostlePaulsaid it thisway, “Nowthese threeremain:faith,hope,andlove.Butthegreatestoftheseislove.”But it isnot just inbeingloved thatwebindmeaningandpurpose. It isalso—itismoreso—inourloving!WhenweloveGodwithallofwhoweare,thistransformsus!WhileGodlovestobeloved,HealsoknowsthatonlyasweloveHim(andothers)willweeverbeallofwhoHecreatedustobe!Still,wemustunderstandthatGod’scommandforustoloveHimisnotat all like the demands of brutal dictators that their people love andsubmit tothem—oftenatpainofpunishment, imprisonment,ordeath.Thiskindof“love”isreallyfear,andGodinHiswordtellsusthatthereisnofearinlove.Instead,itiswritten,“Perfectlovecastsoutfear…”No,God’scommandto lovearisesoutofaproperresponsetoHim, forHelovedusbirst.TheapostleJohnwrites,“WelovebecauseHe@irstlovedus.”Healsosays,inthesameletter,“Thisislove:notthatwelovedGod,but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacribice for oursins.” Paul tells us thatGod lovedus longbeforewe lovedHim: “GoddemonstratedHis love forus in this:whilewewerestill sinners,Christdiedforus.”Amomentagoitwasmentionedthatthereisnofearinlove.Somemayask,“Well,doesn’ttheBibletellustofearGod?”Yes,itdoes.Butthisisbest understood in the sense of reverence, awe, and healthy respect.Presumably,mostofusloveourparents,andthislovedoesnotprecludeahealthy respect for their authority and even ahealthy “fear” of theircorrectionwhenwegetoffthepath.Infact,aswegetolder,ourloveandrespectgrowwhenwelookbacktoourparents’lovingcorrection!WearecommandedtoloveGod.ButHelovesusbirst.Hecreatedus.Heseekstoguideusinpathsofrighteousness.Hewantstoseeusprosperin so many ways. We are told to cast our cares on Him because wemattertoHim.Yes,Godlovestobeloved,justaswedo.ButHealsolovestolove,andHeknowswewillbeourmostcompleteselveswhenweloveHimwithallourhearts.LoveGodforHissake.Hedeservesit!ButknowthatlovingHimwillalsoresultinyourbeingthebestthatyoucanbe!TellHimnowofyourlove!

DAY3

ILOVEGOD!ButHeLovedMeFirst

“Love the Lord yourGodwith all your heart andwith all your soul andwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.” (Mark12.30)We are commanded to love God. But lay that aside for amoment.WewanttoloveGod!Butwhatdoesthatmean?Isitjustafeelingwehavewhenwesingourfavoritehymnorpraisesong?Istheremoretoitthanthat?HowdoweloveGod?InDeuteronomy,asMosesgavethecommandsofGod,Hispeopleweretold to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. Interestingly,whenJesuswasaskedaboutthegreatestcommandment,Hequotedthatpassage,butasHewastranslatingitintothelanguageHewasspeaking,he used four words instead of three—heart, soul,mind, and strength,givingfullerunderstandingtothebreadthoftheHebrewwordsused.WhenIwasayoungChristian,wantingtoknowasmuchaboutGodandHiswordaspossible,Isensedthatthiswasakeyverseforlife.Perhapsthat is obvious in the fact that Jesus calls it the birst and greatestcommandment! But therewasmore to it than that. Iwanted to knowhowtoloveGod—andthisversetoldmetodosowith“heart,soul,mind,andstrength.”Aha!ThesefourwordswouldsurelyteachmetheessenceoflovingGod.Ithoughtofeachword—theywereallveryfamiliar—andhowIinterpretedeachword.AndIrealizedthatthesewordsarenotasconcreteinmeaningasIhadthought.For instance,whatdid itmean to loveGodwithallmyheart?Did thatmean to have an emotional attachment to God—or was there more?What does the word heart really mean? It obviously has a bigurativemeaningbasedonthephysicalheartbeingthecenterofourlivesinthewayitpumpslife-givingbloodtoeveryotherarea.AndwhatdoImakeofthewordsoul?Myinnermostbeing?Ifso,howdoesthatdifferfromheart?Isheartmoreemotionalandsoulmorerational?Andifso—well,Jesus inserted the wordmind. At birst glance, it signibied tome that IshouldloveGodwithmythinking—theponderingofmyheart.Doesthatmeanwithmybrain—ordoesthemindtranscendthebrain?Strength—thatword seemed themost clear tome at birst glance. Itmeant that IshouldloveGodwithmyphysicalbeing.Ordoesstrengthspeaktoinnerfortitude—thepowerofinnerconvictions?I think you can see thatmymeditation actually didn’tmake things asclearasIwanted. Insomeways,mymeditationgaverisetoevenmorequestionsabouthowtoloveGod.IhadsensedthatthekeytolovingGodwasfoundinthissentence,butstudyingthesewordsdidnotbringtheclarity I desired. Then one day it occurred tome that this verse doesindeedgiveme thekey to learninghowbest to loveGod—but thekeywasn’twhatIanticipated.Let’slookatthattomorrow…

DAY4

ILOVEGOD!Heart,Soul,Mind,andStrength

“Love the Lord yourGodwith all your heart andwith all your soul andwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.” (Mark12.30)Thegreatest commandmentofall, Jesussays, is to “Love theLordyourGod…”Andwewanttodothat,don’twe?Isn’titourdesiretoachievethemainpurposeGodhasgivenusinlife?Sothequestioncomes:“HowdoIloveGod?”And,fortunately,thecommandmentanswersthatquestionasitcontinues:“withallyourheartandwithallyoursoulandwithallyourmind and with all your strength.” I mentioned before that I wasconvinced that the key to loving God must be found in these words,“heart,soul,mind,andstrength,”andIembarkedonastudyofthem.ButIdiscoveredthatthemeaningsof thesewordswerenotaspreciseas Idesired.Onecommentatorhelpedmewhenhedescribedthesewordsasbeing“semanticallyconcentric.”That’safancywayofsayingtheyall inessencemean thesame thing! It isperhaps in thebreadth thatweseenuanceofmeaning.ItwasthenthatIwasgivenagreat insight:thekeytohow to loveGodwasindeedfoundinthis,thegreatestofallcommandments,butthekeywasn’tinthewordsIhadfocusedon—heart,soul,mind,andstrength.Thekeywasinthewordall.Noticethatthewordallismentionedforeachoftheotherwords,anditisthekeyinunderstandinghowtoloveGod;inotherwords,itisthekeytoourfulbillingthemainpurposeforwhichwehavebeencreated!Most—hopefullyall—ofus inthechurch loveGod.YettoofewseemtoconsistentlybindtheabundanceoflifethatJesussaidHecametobring.Why not? Could it be becausemany dayswe approach Godwithhalf-hearted love?WeloveHimwithpartofourthoughtsbutreserveotherparts of our minds to dwell on things other than what is “true,honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good reputation, excellent, andpraiseworthy”?(SeePhilippians4.8.)WekeeppartsofoursoulthatareofflimitstoGod,partsthatwedon’twanttochangeorimprovebecauseofourownselbishnessorlaziness?Goddoesn’twantourleftovers.Hewantsourall.DoyoureallywanttoloveGodwithall?Areyouwillingtospendafewminutes now—and the rest of your life—to meditate on what thatmeansdaybyday?Willyoutake fearless inventoryofyourownheart,soul,mind, and strength, identifyingwhat itmeans today to love Godwithallofwhoyouare?Don’t be afraid of God and what He wants to do with your life.Remember,Helovedyoubirst.Let’stryit.Let’sloveHimjustfortoday—withall!SpendafewminutestalkingtoHimaboutthat.

DAY5

ILOVEGOD!TheKeytoLovingGod

“Come,letusbowdowninworship,letuskneelbeforetheLORDourMaker;ForHeisourGodandwearethepeopleofHispasture,theflockunderHiscare.” (Psalm95.6-7)Talkischeap.Wesaywelovejustabouteverything.“Ilovemyparents.”“I lovemyspouse.” “I lovemychildren.” “I lovehotdogs.” “I loveapplepie.”“Ilovethatshow.”“Ilovemyteam.”HowdoweknowwemeanitwhenwesayweloveGod?Afterall,lovingGodiscertainlydifferentfromlovinghotdogs…oratleastitshouldbe!Sinceto loveGodis thegreatestcommandment, itshouldbedoneatahigherlevelthananyotherlove,includingloveforspouseorchildren.ButthewayweloveothersmaygiveussomehintsabouthowweloveGod.Howdoyoushowlovetotheoneswhoaremostimportanttoyou?Doyoushowitwithtime,attention,gifts,service,caringwords,and/orlovingtouches?Doyougivepriorityinlifetothosepeople?Onewaywedemonstrate love forGod is inapracticewecallworship.Whatdoesthatmeantoyou?Andisthatthemeasureofrealworship—what I think itmeans?Or is it something I should learn? IfmyspouselikestimeandattentionbutIonlyexpresslovethroughcaringwords,isthat enough?Does she have to learnmyway of showing love, or do Ineedtolearnhers?Worship comes from the wordworth.When we worship, we tell GodhowmuchHeisworthtous.JusthowmuchisGodworthtoyou?DoesHegetanyofyourprioritytime,ordoyouusetheexcuse,“Idon’twantto be legalistic” to deny God His place every single time there is ascheduling conblict or something else that demands attention?Do youlong to join togetherwith others toworshipwithin the community offaith,hope,andlove?Doyoucarveouttimesofpersonalworship?JesustoldusthatworshipisnotsomuchamatterofwhereorwhenbutofWHOandHOW.WeworshiptheFather,andweworshipinspiritandin truth. Spirit surely means there is life; truth means that we areauthenticandwelookforwaystheFatherdesiresworship.KingDavidwasamanafterGod’sownheart,wearetold.Heunderstoodthatourphysicalposturealternatelyinstructsandreblectsourhearts.Inthepassageabove, thekingspeaksofbowingandkneeling.Why?He isour God! To worship God, we must humble ourselves before Him,declaringthatHeisourMakerandthatwearepartofHisblock—partofsomethingbiggerthanourselves.WebelongtothebodyofChrist.Will you spend some time rightnowworshipingGod?Will yougatherwithHisblockasHegathersthem?Thesesay,“IloveGod!”

DAY6

ILOVEGOD!WorshipinSpiritandTruth

“Ifyouloveme,youwillobeywhatIcommand.” (John14.15)Whatisthetestoflove?HowdoweknowwemeanitwhenwesayweloveGod?Weasked thatquestionyesterday,butwearen’tyet throughwithit.Yes,wedemonstrateourloveforGodinourheartfeltworshipofHim, but there are other ways, too, for us to know that our love isauthentic.Jesussays,“Ifyouloveme,youwillobeywhatIcommand.”There are questions or objections that can arise at this clear, concisestatementofourLord.Aquestionthatarisesis,“AreyousayingIhavetoobeythecommandmentstogetGod’sfavor?Ithoughtweweresavedbygrace!” An objection is thinking that God ismanipulating us as othershavedonesowhen theyhavemadestatements like, “If youreally loveme,youwillbuymewhatIwantordowhatIwant,etc.”Yes,wearesavedbyGod’sgracethroughourfaith,notbyourobedience.No,Godisnotseekingtomanipulateus.HeissimplyhelpingustoknowifwereallyloveHim.Wearesoeasilyconfusedanddeceived!Someonemay say, “I’m a baseball player.” But he is not a baseball player if henever goes on the bield. Someonemay say, “I’m amusician.”But if shenever plays an instrument or sings a song, is she really amusician? IfyousaythatyouareafollowerofJesus,thatyouloveGodwithallyourheartbutyouneverobeyHim,areyoureallyafollower?Ifyouthinkso,inwhatsenseareyouafollower?Ifyousayyouloveaparent,asibling,aspouse,achild,afriend,howdoyouknowthatistrue?Isitjustafeelingthatyouhaveinsideyourselfsothatyouare theonly judgeofwhetheryou love?Orare there tangibleways that demonstrate to yourself and others that your declaration ofloveisauthentic?JesusissayingtousthatasuresignofloveforHimisthatobedienceisthehabitofourlives—notinanefforttoearnsalvationbutasanexpressionoftheloveonehasforHim.CanyouthinkofasinglethingyouhavedonethisweekonlybecauseofyourloveforGod?Haveyouwantedtodosomethingelsefromyourowndesire of the moment but remembered something Jesus has said andthuschangedyourmindsoastoobeyHim?Therearesomepeoplewholoveussowellthatwelovetheminreturnverynaturally.Sometimeswepatourselvesontheback,thinkingweareprovingourloveforGodbylovingthesepeople.Butwedon’tneedGodtocommandustolovesuchpeople.Wedon’tneedGodtocommandustoeatourfavoritedesserts.Thetestisthis:doweobeyGodevenwhenitisnotwhatwewantorwhenit isnotconvenient, justbecauseweloveHimwithallourheartsinviewofallthatHehasdoneforus?Obedience:thisisthetestoflove.Willyoupassthetesttoday?How?

DAY7

ILOVEGOD!Trust…andObey

This is love forGod: toobeyHis commands.AndHis commandsarenotburdensome, for everyonebornofGodovercomes theworld. This is thevictorythatovercomestheworld,evenourfaith. (1John5.3-4)Here it is again: a debinition of love for God that is connected toobedience.TheapostleJohnhasbeennicknamed“TheApostleofLove”becausehiswritingsemphasizebothloveforGodandloveforothers—inotherwords,theGreatCommandments!Hewasfaithfultoremindusof Jesus’ words in his gospel, and he expounds on thosewords in hisletters. The verses above can be very liberating. Look at them again.Especially meaningful is the phrase, “And His commands are notburdensome.”ThatsimpledeclarationcanreopenoureyestothebeautyofGod’scommands.Yousee,itiseasytothinkofanythingweare“told”todoasa“chore.”Wethink back to childhood when our playtime is interrupted by someburdensome chore imposed on us.We think of some of the drudgerythat is inherent inprettymuchany jobwehave.Andsomehowwearedeceivedintothinkinganythingthatiscommandedisbyverydebinitionsomethingwedon’twanttodo.How freeing it is to be reminded that it is our perspective that hasbecome skewed by sin. Open your eyes: His commands are notburdensome!Notonlythat, inobeyingthemisthekeytoovercomingtheworld!Isn’titourdesiretoovercomethissinful,wickedworld?JustlookatthebirstcommandsgivenbyGod.“Befruitfulandincreaseinnumber; bill theearthandsubdue it.Ruleover…every livingcreature.”Weare told thatGodputAdam in theGardenofEden “towork it andtake care of it.” The man was told to name the animals. God said, bycommand,“Youarefreetoeatfromanytreeinthegarden,butyoumustnoteatfromthetreeoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil,forwhenyoueatofityouwillsurelydie.”Fromoursinfulperspective,weconcentrateonthe one tree they couldn’t eat from. Do we miss entirely that thiscommandstarts,“Youarefree…”?Justhowmanytreeswouldyouguesswere in thegarden?Onlyonewasoff limits; therestwere tobe freelyenjoyed.Hiscommands,indeed,arenotburdensome!InProverbs,wearetoldthepurposeforthesecommands:“forattainingwisdomanddiscipline;forunderstandingwordsofinsight.”Wearetoldthatgodlyinstruction“willbeagarlandtograceyourheadandachaintoadornyourneck.”Wouldn’tyouconsiderthesegoodthings?God’s commandsbring joy andpeace!Wouldn’t it be great to live in aworldof faithfulness,aplacewithouttheftormurderor lying?Indeed,God’scommandsarenotburdensome;theybringjoy.TheyaregiftsfromHim.LetusshowGodlovebyobeyingHiswonderfulword!

DAY8

ILOVEGOD!HisCommandsAreNotBurdensome

“Love the Lord yourGodwith all your heart andwith all your soul andwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.” (Mark12.30)Let’sreturntoJesus’statementoftheGreatCommandment.Earlierwementionedthatthewords“heart,”“soul,”“mind,”and“strength”arenotasprecise inmeaningaswemaywant.Theyoverlap. (Remember,onecommentator said they are “semantically concentric.”) Still, with fourwordsbeinguseditisobviousthatthereisareasonforit.ItseemsclearthatloveforGodistobedisplayedwiththetotalityofwhoweare—andcertainlythatwouldincludebothourthoughtsandouremotions.Thosewhodon’t“feel”asmuchofaconnectiontoGodareoftenhappytobindoutthatloveforGodismorethananemotion.Theyaregladtoknowitissomethingwecanbecommandedtodoandthereforecandecidetodo(becauseyoucan’tcommandanemotion!)Still, when those who lean more to thinking than feeling see othersovercomebyemotionin,say,singingaworshipsongorcomingtofaithinJesus,theremaybeasensethatsomethingisbeingmissed.Ortheremay be at least a sense that we would like to include more of anemotionalconnectioninourloveforandworshipofGod.Twoimportantquestionsneedtobeconsidered:1)AretherewaystocultivateemotionsofloveforGod?and2)Istherevalueindoingso?Theanswertobothquestionsisyes!While we all want to obey the admonition to love, we also like thefeelings that often accompany our love for God and others. Whenfeelingsoflovewaneinamarriage,forinstance,itisentirelyproperforeachspousetocultivatethefeelingsthattheyhavehadandwantagain.HowdowedothatforGod—cultivatefeelingsofloveforHim?Let’stakethe next few days working on that as a project. It’s okay if it doesn’treally “work” for you.But if it helps, youwill enjoyperhaps a love forGodthatisevenmorefulbilling.Justremember:youcanloveGodwithorwithouttheaccompanyingfeelings.It’sjusteasierwhenthefeelingsarepresent—andmostofusbinditmoregratifyingaswell.WewillconsidersomeexampleswemaybindhelpfulwhenfeelingsofloveforGoddon’tseempresentorarenotasstrongastheyoncewereorasstrongaswewouldlikethemtobe.For today, spenda fewmoments inmeditationandprayer.AskGod torevealtoyousomeinsightsaboutyourlove.DoyouloveHimwithalltheaspects of your life—heart, soul,mind and strength? And do you loveHimwithall of each one of them?Meditate onwhat thatwould “looklike” inyour life. Itneedn’t look likesomeoneelse’s.This isyours.ButaskHimtohelpyoulovemorefully.

DAY9

ILOVEGOD!CultivatingLoveforGod

ItisgoodtopraisetheLORDandmakemusictoYourName,OMostHigh,toproclaimyourloveinthemorningandyourfaithfulnessatnight,tothemusicofthe…lyreandmelodyoftheharp. (Psalm92.1-3)Music isan incrediblegift thatGodhasgiventous forexpressingbothfeelingsandthoughtsthatperhapsmaynotbeexpressedaswellinanyother way.We all know that simply hearing a song canmove us to avariety of emotions. Music can transport us to a different time ordifferentplace,bringingbackallkindsofmemories.Whileinstrumentalmusicalonecanmoveustobealternatelyjoyfulormeditative,soberorexuberant, combining themusicwithwords is themost commonwaywe as Christians express our faith. And it is a way that can help uscultivatethefeelingsofloveforGodtogoalongwithourthoughts.AmaninaBiblestudyoncesaid,“Allthatmusicandstuffisjustwastedtime forme. I come for theword!”Whileasapastor I appreciatedhisloveandappreciationforGod’sword,wewerestudyingapassagethatincluded these words: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, andspiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”(Ephesians5.19).Likemanyofus,heneededtocultivatealoveforGod,notonlyinhishead,butalsoinhisheart.Do you bind yourself at times needing to either cultivate or rekindlefeelingsof love inyourheart forGod?Oneof theways todo this isbyaccessingthisgiftofmusicthatissoprominentinScripture,particularlyinthebookofPsalms,thehymnalofancientIsraelandamajorsourceofinspirationforthemodernchurchaswell.Think about one of your favorite hymns or spiritual songs. (Hint: thatmeanspauseamoment!)Gotoneinmind?Whyisitafavorite?Isitthewords?Ifso,whatissospecialtoyouaboutthosewords?Isitmorethemusic? How does that music seem to move you? Does it lead you toexuberant joy? Contemplative meditation? Is it loud—or soft? Do thewordsandmusiccometogetherinagreement?Now,takeamomenttosingthesongfromyourheart.(No,I’mserious!Ifyoucan’tbreakout insong,humitsoftlyasyouconsiderthewords inyour heart. Or put on a CD or listen from your computer or phone orhoweveryoucanaccess it.Ordo itall inyourhead—ourmindsaresopowerfulthatwecan“hear”itthere.Buttakethetimetoactuallydoit!)Letthemusictouchyou.Let itmoveyou.Let itcultivateinyouand/orrekindleinyouawarm,affectionatelovefortheGodwhobirstlovedyou.ThereisareasonwecallthedeathofJesusthe“passion”ofChrist.GodispassionateinHisloveforus.LetuslikewiseseektobepassionateinourloveforHim.Cultivatethehabitofusingsongregularly—daily—asyoupracticelovingGodwithallyourheart.

DAY10

ILOVEGOD!Psalms,Hymns,andSpiritualSongs

TheheavensdeclarethegloryofGod. (Psalm19.1)BeforeGodwasourRedeemer,HewasourCreator.Thebirstsentenceofthe Bible tells us, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and theearth,”andweare—orshouldbe—awestruckaswereadtherestofthecreationstoryinthebirsttwochaptersofGenesis.ItisamazingthatGoddidallthis—forus!Whataresomeofyourfavoritescenesinnature?Are youmesmerized by the rhythm and cadence of the surf aswavesbreakatthebeach?Doesthenightskyawayfromthecityremindyouofthevastnessofouruniverseandthe immensityofGod?Haveyoueverbeen snorkeling in the clearwater at a tropical reef? Felt that “good”acheinyoursoulasyoucontemplatedthemajesticpeaksofmountainsorviewed thewonderof thevalleys fromatop thosemountains?Haveyou felt a gentle breeze bringwelcome relief on a hot day? Have youadmiredthechangingcolorsoftheskyandtheorbitselfasyoutookinasunset?Haveyoucaughtaglimpseofafallingstaras ithurtlestowardthe earth? When is the last time you caught sight of the beauty ofrainbowintheskyandthoughttoyourself,“Whatablessing”?Haveyoubeen surprised by the way your heart has almost burst with joy inconjunctionwiththeburstingforthoftheblossomsoftreesandblowersin early spring? Have you had the simple pleasure of walking by ababblingbrookintheearlymorningandactuallywatchingtheearlybirdgettheworm?Orcomeacrossgracefuldeerscamperingthroughalawnorwooded area? Do you remember how your breathwas taken awaywhenyoubirst lookedovertherimoftheGrandCanyon?Haveyoufeltsoatpeacewhenwalkingthroughthesilenceofasnowyday?Anevenbetterquestion:haveanyofthesescenes—orothersfromyourownexperience—beenconnectedinyourheartasagiftfromGod?Aswe think about cultivating awarm, affectionate love for God, don’toverlookthepowerofnature.Davidsaid,“TheheavensdeclarethegloryofGod,”buthecouldhaveeasilypointedtotheearth—andhedidwhenhewrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” As you recallthatthegreatestcommandmentistoloveGodwithallyourheartandallyour soul (as well as with all your mind and strength), connect thegrandeurof creationwith the loveof theCreator! Let the aweof yoursoulgobeyondthesunsettotheOnewhopaintedthesky.Today,baskinthebeautyofbothcreationandCreator.GiveHimthanksandpraisefortheseawesomeyetsimplegifts.Singwiththehymnwriter,“Forthebeautyoftheearth,forthegloryofthe skies… Lord of all, to Thee we raise, this our hymn of gratefulpraise!”Spendafewmomentsinthanksgiving—withallyourheart!

DAY11

ILOVEGOD!FortheWonderofCreation

BlesstheLord,Omysoul,andforgetnotallHisbenefits.(Psalm103.2)WeknowthatwecandemonstrateourloveforGodevenwhenwedon’tfeeluptoitatthemoment,justaswecanshowlovetoafamilymemberorafriendbyperforminganactofkindnessbecauseweoughttoevenwhenwedon’tfeellikedoingit.Butitisalwaysnicewhenourfeelingsandthoughtscometogether,whenweshowlovetobothGodandothersnot only out of a sense of commitment but out of warm, affectionatefeelingsthatarisefromourmutualconcernandcare.Bytheway,itisprobablyahealthythingwhenwedon’talwaysfeellikelovingGod.ItisthenthatwecanbestevaluateifwereallycareforHimorwhetherwearealwaysjustrespondingtoHisgoodnesstous.Imean,it’seasyto“love”someonewhoalwaysservesusanddoesthingsforus!I bindout ifmy commitment is realwhen feelings are absent. If I onlyparticipate inworship, for instance,when I think Iwill get somethingoutofitbutIdon’tshowupifIthinkitisnotgoingtobillmyneedofthedayor I justdon’t feel likeworshiping (though Iwouldprobablygo towork, school, etc., in the samecircumstances), it probablyhelpsme toseethehealthandstrengthofmycommitment—orthelackofit.So it canbehelpful fromtime to time thatwedon’talways feel like it.Butwedon’twanttoconstantlybestuckinasenseofspiritualdrought—like David, when he compared himself to a deer panting for waterwhentravelingoverparchedground.HelongedtohavethesenseofhissoulbeingbilledagainbythegloryofGod.(SeePsalm42.)Itisgoodtocultivate a sense of being billed, andDavid gave us anotherwonderfulwaytodothatinPsalm103.Here,Davidis“coaching”hissoultoblessorpraisetheLord,andhedoesitbyrecountingalltheblessingsofGod.IsiteasytobegintotakeforgrantedallthatGodhasdoneforyouinthepastwhenyouhit a toughpatch in life? Is it easy towonderwhyGoddoesn’tseemtobe“showingup”inthewayyouthinkHeshould?WhatanimpressivelistDavidoffersinPsalm103.Youwillbeblessed,Ithink,ifyoureadoveritallinhiswords.HespeaksofGod’sforgiveness,healing,grace,slowness toanger,compassion;hesaysGodremembersthat we are but “dust.” Again, please note David’s eloquence, not thisabbreviatedlist!TakeamomenttoreadPsalm103rightnow.Davidgetssoexcitedthathebeginstellingeventheangels,theheavenlyhosts,andallcreation—aswellashisownsoul—topraisetheLord.Mightthatworkforyou?Fortoday,letmeencourageyoutotakeafewminutes, using Psalm 103 as a template, to write your own hymn ofpraisethatwillrekindleyourfeelingsofloveforGod.Thenuseitoften,asyouwouldotherhymns.UseitasaguideforpraisingGodinprayer,withallyoursoullettingGodknowjusthowmuchyouloveHim!

DAY12

ILOVEGOD!RememberingHisBeneYits

[Jesussaid,]“YetIholdthisagainstyou:Youhaveforsakenyourfirstlove.Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent, and do thethingsyoudidatfirst.” (RevelaAon2.4-5a)The last thingwewanttodo is to forsakeJesus,our birst love.Howdowe make sure this doesn’t happen? First, we are called to remember.TakeamomenttorememberwhenyoucametoplaceyourfaithinJesusasLordandSavior.Howoldwereyou?Wherewereyou?Whatwerethecircumstances?Wasthereasenseofjoyorrelief?WeretheretearsofjoyorsimplyanewattitudetowardlifeasyoubegantofollowHim?Have you let that sense of love, joy, andpeacedissipate? Jesus says totake another step: repent. In this passage, that means to repent ofallowingyourbirst lovetosubside.Hesaysto“dothethingsyoudidatbirst.”Whenyouhavebeenclosest toGod in life,whataresomeof theactivities that have accompanied that? A quiet time—Bible reading ordevotional guide with prayer? Worshiping with others in the churchwith excitement?Beingpart of a small groupof likemindedbelievers?Getting involved inministry projects? Sharing your storywith others?Whatwouldthosekindsofthingslooklikeforyoutoday?Maybe your experiences with God have not been billed with a lot ofemotion,butyoucanseehowfeelings,whilenotessential,canbeahelpin loving God. Here’s an idea to try, whether cultivating or rekindlingfeelingsofwarmaffection forGod: As you read stories of encounterswith God in the Bible, imagine yourself in the story. Youmay think ofyourselfasamanwantinghisdaughterhealedorthewomanatthewellor the one caught in adultery. Perhaps you look at the story fromanother point of view, like that of one of the friendswho lowered theparalyzedmanthroughtheceilingorsomeonehurtinglisteningtoJesussay, “Cometome,allyouwhoarewearyandburdened,and Iwillgiveyou rest” or a person listening to Jesus speak and then being furtherastonishedbybeingapartofthemultitudemiraculouslyfed.Askquestionslike,“WhatwouldIlikelybethinkingorfeelingduringallthis?” “How would this have impacted my life?” “How would I havereactedwhenJesussaid, ‘Idonotcondemnyou;goandsinnomore’?”SeektounderstandwhypeoplewerenotonlytakenwiththemessageofJesusbutevenmoresowiththepersonofJesus.Letmegiveyouastorytostartwith:READLuke15.11-31,theParableoftheLostSon.Identifybirstwiththeyoungerson.Meditateonwhathislifemusthavebeenlikeatdifferentstagesofthestory.Letittouchyou.Later,thinkoftheolderson.ListentothelovingFatherasheshowslovetoboth.PuttingyourselfinthestoriesisanotherwaytofurthercultivatefeelingsoflovefortheGodwholovedyoubirst.

DAY13

ILOVEGOD!RememberingYourFirstLove

“AstheFatherhaslovedMe,sohaveIlovedyou.NowremaininMylove.If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I haveobeyedMyFather’scommandsandremaininHislove.Ihavetoldyouthisso thatMy joymay be in you and that your joymay be complete.Mycommandisthis:LoveeachotherasIhavelovedyou.”(John15.9-12)In the words above, we see that the Great Commandments were notsimply a “Sunday School answer” for Jesus. Over and overwe see thethemes repeated: we are called to love God and to love others inresponse to God’s love for us. Also here we see again the intendedcorrelation between love and obedience—theywork together to bringjoytousandGod!Earlierwe lookedat theverse in1 John that says, “His commandsarenot burdensome,” but it is easy to forget that! In ourminds, love andobediencedon’talwaysgowell together.Oneseems freeandtheotherseemsforced.If I commandedyou toeat icecream(oranother favorite food),wouldyoudecidenottoeatitjustbecauseItoldyou?(Ifso,itlikelyshowshowdeeplysinisingrained!Wedon’twanttobetoldtodoanything!)God’scommandsareintendedtobringusjoyinthelongrunnomatterwhatyoursenseoftheshortrunmaybe.Imean,wouldn’ttheworldbea better place if everyone worshiped God, kept the Sabbath, honoredtheir parents, and there were no murders, thefts, adulteries, lies, orcoveting?Wouldn’tweallhavemorejoy?Thetruthis,obeyingtheGreatCommandmentstoloveGodandothersactuallybillsourowndeepestneeds!Thinkofthebirstproblemfacedbyman.Whatwasit?Sin?Nope!That’sourbiggestproblemandthesecondmentionedinScripture.Thebirstproblem:“Itisnotgoodforthemantobe alone.” Loneliness. Adam needed someone somewhat like himself.Anothercommonproblemformanisfear.Davidsaidhedidn’tfearthevalleyoftheshadowofdeathbecauseGodwaswithhim.To bill our deepest needs, such as loneliness and fear, we need lovingrelationships with God and others. Even with God, Adam neededsomeoneelsewhowaslikehim.Today,wearelikelytohavetheoppositeproblem:peoplehaverelationshipswithothersbutoftenhavenolovingrelationshipwithGod.Andwhileeithererrorisproblematic,thegreaterproblemisnottohavealovingrelationshipwithGod.So, let’s obey the command to loveGodwith all ourheart, soul,mind,andstrength.BesidesprovingourloveforGod,obeyingthisalsobillsourowndeepneed.Meditateonthistoday…andtomorrow,wewillturnourattention to the secondof the greatest commandments aswebegin tofocusonlovingothersasweloveourselves.

DAY14

ILOVEGOD!FillingMyDeepestNeeds

NowyouarethebodyofChrist,andeachoneofyouisapartofit. (1Corinthians12.27)It’seasyformostofustosay,“IloveGod!”Itmaybeharderforsometosay,“I lovemychurch!”Afterall, lookatthedifferences.Godisperfect.Thechurchisimperfect.Godisalwaysright.Mostofuscanbindthingstocriticizeinthewaythechurchhasdonethings,pastandpresent.Thechurchhassuchahardstandardtoliveupto—JesusChristHimself.Nowonderwehearsomanysentencesthatstartout,“Thechurchoughtto be…” and end, “but she falls so short.” We can all recite manycriticisms of the churchwe have heard.Wemay have echoed some ofthemourselves:“Thechurch is fullofhypocrites.”“Ihavebeenhurtbythechurch.”“Ineededhelpbutthechurchdidnothing.”“Thechurch istoo condemning.” “The church cares more about money than it doesabout people.” “The church isn’t billing my needs.” “My family is notbinding any fulbillment in the church.” “The church sings toomany oldsongs.”“Thechurchsingstoomanynewsongs.”“Thechurchisirrelevanttoreallife.”Iamsureyoucanaddotherstothelist.No,thechurchisnotperfect.Ithinkweallcanagreeonthat.Sowhydowekeep “doing”church?Whyshouldwe love thechurch?Whyshouldweinvestourlivesandourresourcesintothechurch?Goodquestions.The most basic question about the church, though, a question whoseanswerwillhelpclarifymanyoftheotherquestionsaboutthechurch,issimply,“Whatisthechurch?”TheNewTestamentgivesusthreeprimaryimagesofthechurch.The church is the body of Christ. He is the head, and we are themembers—thearms,legs,eyes,nose,mouth,ears,hands,feet,etc.Whilethe verse at the top of the page is very succinct,muchmore detail isgiveninRomans12andin1Corinthians12,13,and14.ThechurchisthebrideofChrist.Weseethisbeautifulimageinsuchplaces as 2 Corinthians 11, Ephesians 5, and throughout the book ofRevelation.Wewilllookmoreintothisimagetomorrow.The church is thebuilding of Christ. I hesitate tomention this onesincesomanyalreadyincorrectlythinkofthechurchasabuilding,butinhisbirstletterPeterspeaksofusbeinglivingstonesthattogetherarebittedtogethertomakeaspiritualhouse—atempleofGod.Theemphasisofthebirstandlastofthesethreespeakespeciallyofhowthe church only “works”whenwe are “put together” in the rightway.Themiddleimagewillhelpusunderstandwhytolovethechurch.Jesussaid,“IwillbuildMychurch.”PraytodaythatwewillunderstandwhatitmeanstobepartofHischurch.WhatisyourpartinHisbody?

DAY15

ILOVEMYCHURCH!WhatIstheChurch?

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,cleansingherbythewashingwithwaterthroughtheword,andtopresenther tohimselfasa radiantchurch,withoutstainorwrinkleoranyotherblemish,butholyandblameless. (Ephesians5.25-27)Howwould you feel if a group said to you, “We like you andwelcomeyou,butwedon’tlikeorwantyourspousearound!”Mostofuswouldbeoffended,andrightlyso.Eachmarriedcouplecomesasa“packagedeal.”That is, they come together. I sincerely believe that Jesus is offendedwhenwe saywe loveHimbutwe don’twant anything to dowithHiswife,thechurch!Jesuslovesthechurch,imperfectasshemaybe,andHewantsustolovethechurch,too.Morecorrectly,Hewantsusasbelieverstounderstandthatweare the church, and ifwedon’t love the church,wedon’t loveourselves. Ifwe rightly understand Scripture,wewill understand thatwebelongtoGodandhavenorightto“optout”ofchurch.In the passage above, the church is portrayed as an imperfect “bride,”one whose husband, Jesus, doesn’t give up on in her imperfection.Instead,Heworkswithher,givingHisverylifetomakeherholyandtopresentherastheradiantbrideHeknowsshecanbecome.If Jesus iswilling to loveus andworkonus andwithus,we certainlyshouldnotgiveuponthechurch.WeshouldbehonoredthatHegivesHis life forusandpersevereswithpatience.HowoftenHemustshakeHishead,wondering,“Whenwilltheygetit?Yet,Henevergivesup.Heisalwayswillingtogiveusanotherchance.JesuslovesHisbride.Thinkofanotherofthe imagesofthechurchweconsideredyesterday:wearethebodyofChrist.Thisimagelikewiseremindsusthatwecan’tgiveuponchurch.Sinceourbodieshavesuchdifferentpartsbutmakeupa coordinatedwhole, shouldn’t that instructus that it isokay tobedifferent in somewaysas longasweareworking together toward thegoalGodhas inmind?Aren’t someofour frustrationswith thechurchthe simple fact thatwearedifferent anddon’t all do the same things?Yet,theimageofthebodyletsusknowthatweneeddifferentfunctions.If you quit loving the church and fully participating in her because ofyourfrustrations,areyounotdoingfurtherharmtoChrist’sbody?Willabodywithanamputatedfootbeashealthyasonewithastrongone?Ifyouarenotparticipatinginthebody,areyounotcripplingthebodyofChrist to the extent that you are not performing the work of thatmember? Let us recognize the imperfections of the church, but let usneverquitonthechurch.JesusisbuildingHischurch.AsweloveJesus,letusloveHischurch,whichisourchurch,whichisus!PraytodaythatGodwillgiveusarenewedloveforJesusandHischurch.

DAY16

ILOVEMYCHURCH!JesusLovesHisChurch

Aboveall,loveeachotherdeeply,becauselovecoversoveramulZtudeofsins. (1Peter4.8)WhenCainwasupsetbecausehisbrotherAbel’ssacribicewasacceptedbyGodwhilehisownwasrejected,Godwasgraciousenoughtocounselhim:“Whyareyouangry?Whyisyourfacedowncast?Ifyoudowhatisright,willyounotbeaccepted?Butifyoudonotdowhatisright,siniscrouchingatthedoor;itdesirestohaveyou,butyoumustmasterit.”Our circumstances may be different, but we often have conblicts thatarisewithourbrothersandsisters inthechurch.Sometimesitmaybethatwedon’tlikethedirectiontheleadershipisheading.Atothertimes,we may have somewhat different standards of what we think isappropriate behavior. We may think some people are being favoredwhileothers—usuallyus,inourminds—arebeingignored.Whenthathappens,siniscrouchingatourdoor,tryingtoturnbrotheragainst brother, killing the unity of the Spirit. At that point, we havechoicestomake,choicessimilartothosefacedbyCainsolongago.Wecan followGod’sword that tellsus to “bequick tohear, slowtospeak,andslow tobecomeangry,”orwecan lashout inwordsofgossipandcriticism, talking about the person rather than to him or her.We canpitchintohelpovercomethedebicienciesweseeinourministries,orwecan do nothing more than complain about what we see as wrong orlacking.We can “seek peace and pursue it,” orwe can display unkindattitudes,words,andactions.Doesn’t love always make things better? Wouldn’t you rather havesomeone be kind and loving when they give you words of rebuke orcorrectionratherthancomingacrossharshlyasifyouareanenemy?Goddoesn’ttellustoignoretheimperfectionsinthechurch,butHetellsus through Paul, “Speak the truth in love.” Above, Peter reminds us to“loveeachotherdeeplybecauselovecoversoveramultitudeofsins.”Spendsometimemeditatingontheseverses.Bewillingtohonestlylookintoyourownlifeandhabits.Whenyoufeeltheneedtosharedifbicultwords,doyouspeak in love?Doyou,asPaulcounseled,rebukeothersgently, remembering you own sins and how you would want to betreated if the situation were reversed? Are you loving others in thechurchdeeply?ThinkofsomeonewithwhomyouhavenotgottenalongwithaswellasGodwouldwant.WhatisGodsayingtoyou?HowwouldHewantyoutotaketheinitiativetomakethingsbetter?Pray,askingGodtogiveyougreatwisdomandtohelpusallunderstandthatlovetrulymakesthingsbetter,coveringmultitudesofsin.

DAY17

ILOVEMYCHURCH!ThingsGoBetterwithLove

IthankmyGodeveryZmeIrememberyou.Inallmyprayersforallofyou,Ialwayspraywithjoybecauseofyourpartnershipinthegospelfromthefirst dayunZlnow…. It is right forme to feel thiswayaboutall of you,sinceIhaveyouinmyheart…GodcantesZfyhowIlongforallofyouwiththe affecZon of Christ Jesus. And this ismy prayer: that your lovemayaboundmoreandmore… (Philippians1.3-9)The apostle Paul had a special place in his heart for the church inPhilippi.Why?Theshortansweristhattheyhadaspecialplaceintheirheart for him! Love so often reciprocates! And that’s the way it issupposedtowork.PaulwasspecialtothechurchinPhilippibecausehehadbroughtthemthe life-givingmessageof thegospel.Hehadbeenwrongly imprisonedintheircity,yethisholyconductledtothesalvationofthejailerandhisentire family—and surely there were others who followed when theysawthejoyandtransformationintheirlives.Inreturn,whenPaullefttostartchurchesinothercities,thePhilippianchurch, though generally poor, sacribiced to help Paul. Besides theopening remarks printed above, most of the fourth chapter ofPhilippians is devoted to Paul’s warm love and appreciation for thechurchthere.Inreadingit,youwillbindPaulremark,“…yousentmeaidagainandagainwhenIwasinneed”(Philippians4.16).How have you been touched in your life by the ministry of Christ’schurch?Itisprettyeasyforustofocusonthetimeswefeelthatwehavebeenletdown;likewise,wecanquicklyfallintothe“whathaveyoudoneforme lately?”kindofattitudewhen thinkingabout thechurch.WhenPaulthoughtbacktothePhilippians,hesaid,“IthankmyGodeverytimeIrememberyou.”HowhasChrist’schurchtouchedyou?Ifyouareabeliever,undoubtedlythechurchbroughtyouthegoodnews.MuchofyourunderstandingoftheBible andGod’swill has come through the church.Has the churchbeen a source of friendship, comfort, and encouragement? When youhavehadneeds,hasthechurchcometoyouraid?Someof youmaybe thinking, “No, certainChristiansdid these things,notthechurch.” IfanyChristianhaseverdoneanythingforyou, itwasthechurch.ThechurchismadeupofthepeopleofGod.Whensomeoneputanarmaroundyoutocomfortyouandpraywithyou,thatwasthechurch in action.When a believer gave you a gift to help you in someway,thatwasthechurch.WhenaparentorteachertoldyouaboutJesus,thechurchofJesuswasreachingouttoyou.PondertodayhowyouhavebeentouchedbyChrist’schurch.AskGodtohelpyoureallyseethechurch—andthankGodforyourmemories.

DAY18

ILOVEMYCHURCH!HowHaveYouBeenLoved?

Ifanyonesays,"IloveGod,"yethateshisbrother,heisaliar.Foranyonewhodoesnotlovehisbrother,whomhehasseen,cannotloveGod,whomhehasnotseen.Andhehasgivenusthiscommand:Whoever lovesGodmustalsolovehisbrother. (1John4.20-21)Johniscalled“TheApostleofLove,”anditiseasytoseewhy.Inbothhisgospelandhis letters,heemphasizes loveoverandover.Heespeciallyemphasizestheuniqueloveforoneanotherthatistobeevidentinthelives of believers. He records Jesus saying, “By this allmenwill knowthatyouareMydisciples,ifyouloveoneanother”(John13.35).Inthepassageabove,hetellsusthatwearespoutingemptywordsifweclaimtoloveGodbutdon’tlovethe“brothers”—thatis,fellowbelievers.Whilewearetoloveall,aswewillseeintheweeksahead,thereisstilltobeaspecialbondthatshouldexistamongbelievers.Yesterday, you were encouraged to remember how you have beentouchedbytheloveofthechurch—whetherinthesenseofthechurchasawhole or simply by individuals or small groupswho are part of thechurch.Whenmembers loveyou, youarebeing lovedby the church! IhopethatGodhelpsusalltounderstandandappreciatethistruth.Butwealsoneed to lookat thequestion from theother side:howareyoutouchingotherswithinthechurch?Anotherwaytoaskthisquestionis,Howisthechurchbetterbecauseofyou?In our culture, it is so easy to have a consumer mindset about thechurch:“Whatserviceareyouprovidingtome?Howareyoubillingmyneedsandtheneedsofmy family?”While Iamnotsuggesting thatweshouldnotwanttoseeourspiritualneedsmetthroughthechurch,Iamsuggestingthatweare imbalancedorthatwearebeingblindedbytheevil one ifwe don’t also ask the question, “What am I bringing to thechurch?”TheapostlePetertellsus,“Eachoneshouldusewhatevergifthehas received to serveothers, faithfullyadministeringGod’sgrace initsvariousforms”(1Peter4.10).How are you loving others?How are you serving the church? Inwhatwaysareyoubeingablessingtoothers?Inwhatwaysareyounotonlygiving lipservicebutdemonstrating lovetoothers?Therearesomanyavenues of showing love: teaching, encouraging, leading, greeting,ushering, working behind the scenes in worship sound andpresentation,singing,playing instruments,headingaministryofhelps,trainingothers,helpingnewbelieversgrowindiscipleship,participatingonateamorcommittee—well,yougettheidea.Weallneedtotakeourpart in demonstrating love to each other through service.Meditate onwhatyouaredoing—andwhatyoucouldbe.Let’saskGodtoshowushowwecantouchsomeonetoday.

ILOVEMYCHURCH!HowHaveYouTouchedOthers?

DAY19

Justaseachofushasonebodywithmanymembers,andthesemembersdonotallhavethesamefuncZon,soinChristwewhoaremanyformonebody,andeachmemberbelongstoalltheothers. (Romans12.4-5)Irecentlyheardthetestimonyofawomansharinghowthechurchhadshoweredherandherfamilywithlove,comfort,andsympathyfollowingthedeathofachild.Shesaid,“IhaveneverbeenmoreacutelyawareofhowmuchGod lovesmeandhowmuchothers loveme—justbecausethey loveme. Iknowmylife isworthsomething, too,besides justhowsmartIamorhowkindIamorhowhelpfulIamorwhatIcando.Iamloved fornootherreason thanmy life isworthsomething toGod,andI’mverythankfulforthatawareness.”What she is so eloquently describing is a sense ofbelonging.Wemostoftenthinkaboutbelongingincontextofourfamilies.Wegettochooseourfriends—andtheycanchooseusornotchooseus—butwearebornintoourfamilies.Theyhavetotakeus.Webelong.Andwhilesometimeswedon’twantotherstolikeusjustbecausetheyhaveto—wethinkwewanttoearnit—therearetimeswerealizehowcomfortingitisjusttobeacceptedandlovedbecausewebelong,toknowthepeacethatcomeswhenwe can realize thatwe don’t have to earn someone’s love everysinglemomentofeverysingleday.Wearelovedjustbecausewebelong.Paulsaysaboutthechurch,“eachmemberbelongstoalltheothers.”WemattertoGodandeachotherbecauseourlivesareworthsomethingtoGod.Isn’titgreattobelong?ThechurchisGod’sfamily,andallofuswhoareadoptedintothefamilybelong!Yes, belonging also brings responsibilities.We all have “chores” in thefamily of God.We are called to love and care for each other.We evenhave to lovingly rebuke and correct each other when we act ugly orwhenwemakewrongchoices.Disciplinecomeswithbelonging.Whilewedomakeallowancesforeachother,wearenotallowedtotakeeachotherforgrantedortorunroughshodovereachother,alwaysinsistingupon and getting our ownway. But this too is part of the blessing ofbelonging. Those towhomwe belong keep us honest and keep it realandcan’tjustignorewhatisgoingoninourlives.Ratherthanabandonustheyarewillingtokeepengagingwithus.IlovemychurchbecauseIbelong.IamacceptedforwhoIam.IcanbaskintheknowledgethatIamlovedjustforwhoIam,butIammotivatedbyloveandcarenottoremainjustasIambuttogrowandchangeandmake progress. Together, we who belong form the body of Christ.Together,weuniteallkindsofgiftsandtalents.Together,wecanmakeadifferencethatwecannotmakealone.Leteachoneofuspondertodaythedifferenceitwillmakewhenweunderstandthatwebelong.

DAY20

ILOVEMYCHURCH!IBelong!

[Jesus]istheheadofthebody,thechurch…ForGodwaspleasedtohaveall his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself allthings…bymakingpeacethroughhisblood,shedonthecross.OnceyouwerealienatedfromGodandwereenemiesinyourmindsbecauseofyourevil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical bodythroughdeathtopresentyouholy inhissight,withoutblemishandfreefromaccusaZon… (Colossians1.18-22)Aren’tyougladyouarepartofthechurch,thebodyofChrist?Becauseyou are part of the church, you are no longer God’s enemy. He hasreconciled you to himself by the death of Jesus on the cross—andthroughHisglorious resurrection.Youwereonceconsideredsinful, anobjectofGod’swrath;now,youbelongtoHimandarebeingmadeholyandarefreefromanyaccusation.Do you rememberwhat it was like when youwere saved—when youconfessed JesusasyourLordandSavior?Thinkback to that time.Youmayhavebeenachild,raisedinaChristianhomeandinalovingchurch,anditwasanaturalstepforyoutoembraceJesusasLordandacceptHisfreeofferofsalvation.Othersmayhavebeenolderandhaveseenamoredramaticchangesomewhatlaterinlife.Youmayhavea“hybrid”story—you made the decision to follow Jesus early in life but experiencedperiodsinyourlifewhenyouleftthepathtofollowyourownway,butGodwaspatientandgracioustobringyoubackonceagaintotheplacethatyoubelong.Aren’tyougladthatGodrescuedyouandbroughtyouintoHisbody,thechurch?Don’tyouwishothershadthatopportunity?Everyoneneedsachurchinwhichtoliveandlearnandloveandserveandshare.Somethinkitisokaytosay,“Iampartofthechurchuniversal,butIdon’tneed to be part of a local church.” These people should not readScriptureiftheywanttostaysecureintheirerror.Over80%ofthetimetheword “church” or “churches” is used in the Bible, it refers to localexpressions of the church meeting in specibic locales. Much of theinstruction about loving, teaching, and serving one another, and usingourdifferentgiftsforthecommongoodmakesnosenseapartfromthechurchbeinganidentibiedgroupthathasbeenbroughttogetherbyGodtoworshipandworktogetheraspeoplewhobelongtoeachother.Who needs the church? Believers need the church and have theresponsibility to take their places within her. Those who are not yetbelievers need the church to show them the love of Christ, take thegospel to them,andaccept theminto the familyof faith.For this latterparttocometrue,wemustembraceanotherlove.IlovemyGod!Ilovemychurch!Andnow…Ilovemycommunity!Pondertodayhowyoucanlovebothchurchandcommunity.AskHimforwisdom.

DAY21

ILOVEMYCHURCH!EveryoneNeedsaChurch

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, thatwhoeverbelievesinhimshallnotperishbuthaveeternallife.(John3.16)InEsther,theyoungqueenstruggleswithwhethertoapproachthekingtotrytorescuetheJews,amovethatwouldputherlifeatrisk.HeruncleMordecaiasks,“Whoknowsbutthatyouhavecometoroyalpositionforsucha timeas this?”Wemightaska similarquestionaboutourbeingpart of this church at this time: Who knows but that we have beenplacedinthischurchforsuchatimeasthis?When I became pastor here, we embarked on a Visioning process todetermineGod’splanforourchurchatthistimeinourhistory.Aspartofthatprocess,Iwantedtoknowwherewehadcomefrom.Ofcourse,Ihad the history book from the beginning, but Iwantedmore personalinformation. I conducted “CongregationalConversations”withasmanyof our members who would do so. One question I asked was, “Whatbrought you to Ancient City Baptist Church?” Most of the responses,especiallyfromouroldermembers,included,“Wemovedhereandwerelooking for anewchurch.” Somewent further: “Wewere looking for aBaptistchurch,andthischurchbilledourneeds.”How different it is today formost people. It seemsmuch harder as achurchtogrowthaninpastgenerations.Peoplewhomoveherearenot,generallyspeaking,lookingforachurchtojoin.Yes,someare,butfewerand fewer are looking for a church. Fewer and fewer grew up in ahealthychurch.Fewerandfewerseetheneedtobeanactivepartofachurch.So,howdowerespond?Somemightsay,“Theyknowwearehere.WhentheygetreadytosearchforGod,theycanbindus.”Someofusmaybewaryofthisnewbreedofpeoplewhosevaluesseemsodifferentfromourown.Wemightnotlikethewaytheylive,someoftheir lifestylechoices.Again,“whentheyarereadytosearch,wearehere.”ButtheBiblepaintsGodasonewhoisnotcontenttowaitforpeopletocome to Him; we see that He is the God who is on mission. He issearchingforus,reachingouttous.Hedemonstratedhisloveforus“inthatwhilewewereyetsinners,Christdiedforus”(Romans5.8).Ourversetoday,themostwell-knownandbelovedofallversesintheBible,tellsusthatGodlovestheworldsomuchhesentHisSontorescueus.Godlovestheworld.Helovesourcommunity.BecauseGodlovesourcommunity,wemust love our community also. This week, wewill focus on God’sloveandourloveforourcommunity.Let’sbegintodaybymeditatingonJohn3.16andaskingGodtohelpusloveourcommunityasGoddoes.

DAY22

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!BecauseGodLovesMyCommunity

TheLORDsaid,“Ninevehhasmorethanahundredandtwentythousandpeoplewhocannottelltheirrighthandfromtheirle^,andmanyca_leaswell.ShouldInotbeconcernedaboutthatgreatcity?” (Jonah4.11)JonahwastoldbyGodtogopreachtothegreatcityofNineveh,warningthemofimpendingdoom.Instead,heranawayfromNineveh—andfromGod.But a big bish got Jonah’s attention, andhe binally but reluctantlydid what God asked. He preached, “Forty days and you will bedestroyed!” Incredibly, the people repented! You would think Jonahwouldbehappy,but thatwasnot thecase: “OLORD, is thisnotwhat IsaidwhenIwasstillathome?ThatiswhyIwassoquicktoblee...Iknewthat you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger andabounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, OLORD,takeawaymylife,foritisbetterformetodiethantolive."AreweeverlikeJonah?Ratherthanwantingotherstorepent,wewouldratherseethemjudgedbecauseoftheirsinfulbehavior?DowelongtoseethewrathofGodcomedownontheungodly?If so, we are very different from God himself. He says through HisprophetEzekielthatHetakesnopleasureinthedeathofthewicked.Hewouldmuchrather seepeoplecome to repentanceand live.Godcaresforus,too,andHedesiresthatwecometoseethingsfromHispointofview.Note in theverseabovehowGodreachesout to Jonah.HewantsJonah to see His heart. He reasons with him and gives him an objectlessonwithavine.(Jonahisashortbook—readitallthewaythroughifyouhave the time.)God’s binalquestion IamsureHewouldaskaboutourcityaswell:“ShouldInotbeconcernedaboutthatgreatcity?”Yes, He is concerned for the great, historic city of St. Augustine, andthereforeweshouldbe,too.HewouldmuchratherseethepeoplehereturntoHimandlivethanjudgethemfortheirsins.Whenyoulookatourcommunity,whatdoyousee?Takeafewminutestoreallythinkaboutthat.Whatdoyouconsiderourcommunity?Ifyouarealong-timeresident,whataresomeofthechangesyouhaveseeninyour time here? What are some of the good things about ourcommunity?Whataresomeofthechallenges?Whoismovingout?Whois moving in? How do you think our community might change in thefuture?ShouldnotGodbeconcerned?Shouldnotwebeconcerned?Tomorrowwewill try toseeourcommunityas Jesussees it. IfwecanlearntoseethepeoplearounduswiththeeyesofJesus,itwilltransformthewaywelookatourcommunity.Itwillhelpustoloveourcommunityboth more and better. We don’t know Jonah’s response to God’squestion. Spend some time with God now, praying that we all willrespond,“Yes,God,youshouldbeconcerned,andIshouldbe,too.”

DAY23

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!GodIsConcernedfortheCity

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in theirsynagogues,preachingthegoodnewsofthekingdomandhealingeverydisease and sickness.When he saw the crowds, he had compassion onthem, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without ashepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plenZful but theworkers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send outworkersintohisharvestfield.” (MaFhew9.35-38)Doyouliketo“peoplewatch”?Itisinterestingtodo—toseewhatpeopledo,thewaytheyare,wonderwhatelsemightbegoingonintheirlives,wonderwhytheydothethingstheydo,whytheydon’tmakedifferentchoicesinlife.Jesuswasobviouslyapeoplewatcher.WhenHelookedatthecrowds,Hesawmore thanablurofhumanity.He sawpeoplewhowereharassedandhelpless,peoplewithoutavisionofwhatreal lifecouldbe.RatherthanHisbirstsensebeingangerordisappointment,Jesuslookedonthepeoplewithcompassion.Hewantedthesepeopletolearntherightwaytolive,toachieveabetterlifeandpurposethanwhattheyweredoing.Justassheepneedshepherdstoleadtheway,peopleneedtheguidanceofJesus.AndHewantstoleadthemhometo“greenpastures”and“stillwaters,” as KingDavidmentions in Psalm23.Hewants to restore thesoulsofpeople towhat theyought tobe, towhatGod intended in thebeginningofcreation.Hewantstogiveresttothosewhoareburdened.Itiseasytolookatpeopleinourcommunitywithjudgmentaleyes.Itiseasytodecidethat theywillreapwhat theysow.Andsotheywill.ButJesussaysthatbirstofall,theyshouldbeconsideredpartoftheharvest.He maintains that many of them are reachable—“the harvest isplentiful”—iftherewerebutenoughworkerstogotothem.Surely we realize that we who are in the church, we who are Hisdisciplesarecalledtobetheanswertotheprayerfor“workers.”Wereallywanttomakean impactonourcommunity forthekingdom,don’twe?Thatwillbeginwhenwebecomepeoplewatchers—aslongaswearelookingwiththeeyesofJesus,eyesofcompassion.Yes,thereisatimeforjudgment.Butitisprecededbydaysofmercyandgrace.Today,lookatpeoplearoundyou.Thosewhoaremakingwrongchoices—seethemaspeopleinneedofashepherd,inneedofaSavior.ThinkofhowtheirlivesmightchangewhentheybegintowalkwithJesus.Smileatthethought of it. Wonder how you—we—might make a difference, howmightwereachout to them.Whatministriesmight touch them?Whatactsofkindnessmightspeaktothem?Godwants to touchour community throughHis church. Let’s pray fortheeyesofJesustoseeourcommunitythewayHeseesthem.

DAY24

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!SeeingwiththeEyesofJesus

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave toeveryone,towinasmanyaspossible.TotheJewsIbecamelikeaJew,towin the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law(thoughImyselfamnotunderthelaw),soastowinthoseunderthelaw.TothosenothavingthelawIbecamelikeonenothavingthelaw(thoughIamnotfreefromGod'slawbutamunderChrist'slaw),soastowinthosenothavingthelaw.TotheweakIbecameweak,towintheweak.Ihavebecomeall things to allmen so that by all possiblemeans Imight savesome. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in itsblessings. (1Corinthians9.19-23)YouwillnotcasteyesonanyonetodaythatGoddoesnotloveandwishtoredeem.Peterwrites,“Heispatientwithyou,notwantinganyonetoperish,buteveryonetocometorepentance”(2Peter3.9).Hewantsustobepatientwiththem,too,andpointthemtowardthekindnessofGod,whichleadstorepentance.What are some ways you think we might be effective in encouragingthose inour community to repent?Clever sloganson the church sign?Streetpreachingonthecornerwithabullhorn?Wearingsackclothandasheswithasandwichboardthatproclaims,“Turnorburn!”?Leavingagospel tract in the restroom of a busy restaurant for someone to bindafteryouleave?Iamsurethatpeoplehavecometofaithbysomeofthesemethods,butthe passage above shows the apostle Paul’s own strategy for reachingthecommunitiesheentered:ratherthanfocusonallthedifferences—invalues,thinking,behavior,priorities,etc.—helookedforwaystoconnectwith thoseheencountered.Peoplearemost responsive topeople theybindsomecommonalitywith,peopletheylike,andpeoplebywhomtheyfeelliked.YearsagoIreadabookwithatitlethatprettymuchsumsupwhatPaulissaying:MakingFriendsforChrist.Whomakesupourcommunity?Wholiveshere?Whoworkshere?Whoshopshere?Justhowfardoesourcommunityreach?Whataresomeofthe needs of our community? What are some of the interests? Howmightwegettoknowsomeofthemthatwedon’trunintointhenormaltrafbic patterns of our lives? Are their civic clubs or organizations wemightjoin?Aretheiropportunitiestovolunteersothatwemightworkalongside others? Can we offer volunteer opportunities that ourcommunitymightwanttojoinineventhoughtheyarenotyetbelievers?Are theirneeds inour community thatwecanmeet?Are thereeventswe can host? These are the kinds of questions we must answerindividuallyandasachurchduringour40DaysofLove.Prayandmeditateonthesethoughtstoday.Jotdownyourideas…

DAY25

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!ConnectingwithMyCommunity

Ifanyonesays,“IloveGod,”yethateshisbrother,heisaliar.Foranyonewhodoesnotlovehisbrother,whomhehasseen,cannotloveGod,whomhehasnotseen.Andhehasgivenusthiscommand:Whoever lovesGodmustalsolovehisbrother. (1John4.20-21)Webeganour40DaysofLovewiththedeclaration,“IloveGod!”Thatistheabsoluterightplace tostart, forourhighestcallingandpurpose inlifeistoloveGodwithallourheart,soul,mind,andstrength.TheverseabovehelpsusseeifwereallyloveGod.It’seasytosay,“IloveGod.”TheScriptures are always leading us to test the truth ofwhatwe say. ThewordofGod,wearetold, issharperthananydouble-edgedswordand“judgesthethoughtsandattitudesoftheheart”(Hebrews4.12).Inotherwords,ithelpsusknowifwereallyaredoingwhatwesaywearedoing.DoyousayyouloveGod?Well,doyouloveyourcommunity?Johnsayswecan’tloveGodwithoutlovingpeople.Youmightpointoutthatthepassageabovesaystoloveour“brothers,”notthecommunity,andthatJohniswritingaboutotherbelievers.Andasfarastheverseabovegoes,youwouldbecorrect.TheemphasisJohnismakingaboveisindeedloveforthosewhosharethefaith.ButrememberthecommandmentthatJesussaidisthesecondgreatestofallandis“like”thecommandtoloveGod?Itisto“loveyourneighboras yourself.” When Jesus was asked to debine “neighbor,” he used thestory of “The Good Samaritan,” which clearly shows that loving ourneighborgoesbeyondsimplylovingfellowbelievers.Ifthestorydoesn'tmake that clear enough, Jesus told us elsewhere that we are to gobeyond the generally accepteddebinition of neighbor and to even loveourenemies!Wewilllookmorespecibicallyatthatlateron,butfornowlet’ssimplyacceptthetruththatifwesayweloveGod,theproofofthatclaimwill be shownby our loving thoseHe loves—those in need of aSavior.Let me give you some good news: you don’t have to particularly likesomeonetolovehimorher!Sure,ithelps,butthekindoflovethatGodhasforusandthatwearetoshowtothecommunityisaloveofcareandconcern. It is a love of choice: you choose to do good at themomentwhetheryoufeellikeitornot.Thinkaboutyourfamily.Therearetimesyou may not like your child at the moment, perhaps because of badbehaviororhurtfeelingsordisappointments,butyoustillfeed,carefor,andotherwiseshowlove.Evenyourdiscipline,ifdoneintherightspiritandfortherightreasons,isasignoflove.Dowe like thepeople inourcommunity? Ihopewecancultivate that,butwe can love themanyway!Pray today, askingGod to showyoubyyourloveforothersifyoureallyloveHim.

DAY26

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!ItProvesMyLoveforGod

Allthebelieverswereoneinheartandmind.Nooneclaimedthatanyofhispossessionswashisown,but they sharedeverything theyhad.Withgreat power the apostles conZnued to tesZfy to the resurrecZon of theLord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needypersons among them. For fromZme to Zme thosewho owned lands orhouses sold them, brought themoney…and put it at the apostles' feet,anditwasdistributedtoanyoneashehadneed. (Acts4.32-35)Marvel at the description above. It is not unique to Jerusalem.We seesuchtransformationeverywherethegospelwasplantedandblossomed.Thereisneveracommunity,Idon’tthink,whereeachpersondecidedtofollowJesus.Afterall,Hesaidhimself,“Fewarethosewhobindit.”ButacommunitycanbetransformedwhenenoughpeopleplacefaithinJesusandbegintoliveoutthatfaith.InthebookofActs,weseethatthesebelieverswere“highlyregarded”bythepeople.Inherearlyhistory,weseethechurchtakingcareoftheirown in extraordinary ways, as indicated in the passage above, andshowingloveandconcernforoutsiderssothattheywouldwanttojointhis band of followers of Jesus. Communities were transformed aspeople began to put the teachings of Jesus into practice through thepoweroftheHolySpiritintheirlives.Whetherinsittingbythebedsideofthesick,offeringcompassionandprayer,orestablishinghospitalsincities across the world, the church has impacted individuals andcommunities by her commitment to theway of Jesus, who said, “It isbettertogivethantoreceive.”Whatcouldourcommunitylooklikeifweareabletolearnanewhowtoloveourcommunityinthisdayandage?Howmightthecommunitybetransformed? Might we see churches once more billed with vibrantworshipers week after week? Could we see burdened people bindingrest? Would people have a new vision of what life is really like anddelight in learning God’s plan for everything from sharing Christ tohandlingbinancestocorrectlyhandlingthewordofGod?Whatcanyouimagine might happen if all the Christians in our community, all thechurchesconcentratedonlovingourcommunitywiththeloveofGod?Wemightthinkthatwearetoosmallandinsignibicanttomakemuchofa difference. That’s for Jesus to decide.He told a church in Revelationthatinspiteoftheirweakness,hewouldplacebeforethemanopendoorthat no one could shut. Someone has asked, “How do you eat anelephant?”Theanswer?“Onebiteatatime.”Orasapastoroncesaidtome:“Thinkbig.Startsmall.Movewiththemoved.”AsGodmovesusinourhearts,wecanmoveforwardinourcommunityastepatatime.WhatmightGodbesayingtoyou?Tous?Let’slistenforhisvoice!

DAY27

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!ATransformedCommunity

Each one should use whatever gi^ he has received to serve others,faithfullyadministeringGod'sgraceinitsvariousforms.Ifanyonespeaks,heshoulddoitasonespeakingtheverywordsofGod.Ifanyoneserves,heshoulddo itwiththestrengthGodprovides,sothat inall thingsGodmaybepraisedthroughJesusChrist.Tohimbethegloryandthepowerforeverandever.Amen. (1Peter4.10-11)Earlier,wehighlightedJesus’words,“Ifyouloveme,youwillobeywhatIcommand.”WhileourgreatestpurposeistoloveGod,Jesusalsoputsapremiumonserving.Wedemonstrateour lovethroughobedience,andJesusnotonlyteachesustoservebutsetstheexample:“Whoeverwantstobecomegreatamongyoumustbeyourservant,andwhoeverwantstobebirstmustbeyourslave—justastheSonofMandidnotcometobeserved,buttoserve,andtogivehislifeasaransomformany.”Yes, ifwe loveGod,wewill obeyHim. Ina similarvein, ifwe loveourcommunity,wewillserveourcommunity.Weareeachtouseourgiftstoserveothers, being faithfulwithGod’s gifts, using the strength thatheprovides. Often times, our gifts must be combined with the gifts ofothers so that the ministry can be most effective and God can begloribiedintheeyesofothers.Today,let’sdosomeholybrainstorming.Givesomerealthought,andjotdownsomeofyourconclusions,rememberingthemforyourselfandforsharingthemwithothersappropriately…What are someof the giftsGodhas given you? (Yes,Hisword sayseachbelieverhasgifts,sodon’tbeshy.Ifyouneedhelp,askotherswhattheythinkyoudowell.Andsincethisishardforsomany,takethesteptogoaheadand tellothers thegiftednessyousee in them…) Jotdownsomeofyourgifts…Howcanyouuseyourgiftsinthedaytodayoflife?(Manyformsofservice to the community are best when well planned, but often Godsends us opportunities in the day to day of life, and we are called to“makethemostofeveryopportunity.”)Whataresomeneedsyouseeinourcommunity?Whatarewaysthatyoucouldbeinvolvedinmeetingthoseneeds?What are some needs your Life Group (or other ministry group)couldmeettogether?Whodoyouneedtotalktoaboutthese?What are some needs that perhaps could be addressed by theentirechurch?Withwhomcouldyousharethisidea?Noteveryopportunitywediscover isacall,butGodwantsus toserveour community, andwebegin by doing inventory and then askingHisguidancetoshowuswhatwecandomosteffectivelyinHisname…

DAY28

ILOVEMYCOMMUNITY!IWillServeMyCommunity

Loveyourneighborasyourself. (Mark12.31)Inthese40DaysofLove,wehavemadeseveraldeclarationssofar:“IloveGod!”“Ilovemychurch!”“Ilovemycommunity!”But…“I lovemyself?ShouldIreally lovemyself? I thought theselfwasfull of sin… I thought that selbishnesswas the epitome of sin… I havebeen tryingmywhole Christian life to deny myself and follow Jesus…nowyoutellmethatIamsupposedtolovemyself?”Thesearesuchgoodquestions,andIamsogladtheycametoyourmind.We have to walk a binely balanced line when we talk about lovingourselves. It is true that much of the sickness of sin is played out inselbishness and that we are told to “do nothing out of selbishness orempty conceit, butwith humility ofmind regard one another asmoreimportant than yourselves” (Philippians 2.3 NASB). So often the Bibletellsus,“Godopposestheproudbutgivesgracetothehumble.”Andweoftenmistakeself-loveforselbishness.Buttheyarenotthesame.Properself-love,whichwewilllookatinmoredetaillater,iswhatGodwantsfromusandforus.Howdoweknowthis?It’ssimple.It’sincludedinthesecondof thetwogreatestcommandments,butweoftenmiss itbecausetheprimaryemphasisiselsewhere.Jesus,quotingfromtheLawof Moses, said the second most important command is to “love yourneighborasyourself.”Doyounoticethestandard?Loveyourneighborasyouloveyourself.Ifyou don’t love yourself verymuch, then you don’t have to love othersvery much! That is obviously not God’s intent. He is giving us a highstandard for loving our neighbors—love them as much as you loveyourself! Paul helps us understand it in Ephesians 5, though hisemphasis there is husbands loving their wives as themselves and asChristlovesthechurch.Hemorespecibicallyspeaksofthewaywetakecareofourbodiesaspartofself-love:“Afterall,nooneeverhatedhisownbody,buthefeedsandcaresforit,justasChristdoesthechurch…”Self-loveisabouttakingcareofourbodiesphysicallyandnurturingoursoulsspiritually. It’snotaboutbeingselbish,prideful,orarrogant. It isperfectlyconsistentwithbeinghumble.ItisaboutappreciatingwhoGodhasmadeustobeandgrowingintothatpotential.Someofusneededtoask,aswedidtoday,“ShouldI lovemyself?”Yes,you should, God says. Formany others of us, the question is differentwhenweseeourmanyblaws:“CanIlovemyself?”Let’slookatthatnexttime.Rightnow,askGodtobegintohelpyouloveyourselfproperlysoyoucanloveyourneighborsthewayHeintends.

DAY29

ILOVEMYSELF!ShouldIReallyLoveMyself?

For you createdmy inmost being; you knitme together inmymother'swomb. I praise you because I am fearfully andwonderfullymade; yourworksarewonderful,Iknowthatfullwell. (Psalm139.13-14)Manyofus—almostallofus—strugglewithourself-image.Itmayhavesomething to dowith thewaywe look in this very visual, airbrushedworldwherethehumanbodyispracticallyworshiped.Wemayfeelthatwearetoofatortoothin,tootallortooshort.Wemaynotlikethecolorofourhair—orthefactthatwedon’thaveasmuchhairasweoncedid!It may be more of our physical accomplishments—we feel debicientbecause someone else is a more accomplished athlete or musician orstudent or speaker. Often, our sense of failure comes more from ourattitudesandourbehavior.Wejustdon’t likethewaywehavethoughtoracted.Wedon’tlikethewayweseemtogiveintosinoverandover.So, the question goes beyond, “Should I lovemyself?” and goes to theheartoftheself-esteemquestion:“CanIlovemyself?”Stopandconsider:whatdoyounotlikeaboutyourself?Arethesethingsthatcanbechanged?Shouldtheybechanged?Doyouconcentratemoreonouterbeautyor inwardcharacter? Ifyoucouldmakesomeof thesechanges, would you automatically like yourself more? Would yourdifbicultywithself-lovebeovercome?Now,Iwantyoutothinkaboutbivepeoplethatyoulove.Namethemtoyourself—yes,rightnow.(I’mwaiting.)Haveyougottheminmind?Iguesssinceyoulovethem,theyareallperfect,right?What?Notallbiveareperfect?Hmm.Okay,thenwhichonesareperfect?Are you kidding me? None of them are perfect? But isn’t that yourstandardforlikingandlovingsomeone?No?Thenwhydoyouinsistonthat standard for loving yourself? Can’t you like yourself and loveyourselfwhileyouareaworkinprogress?LookatourScripturefortodayagain.Davidknowshisblaws(seePsalm51 if you don’t believe it), but he believes that he is “fearfully andwonderfullymade.”HeacceptshimselfasmadebyGod.Soshouldyou.Perfection is not required for you to be loved by others or to loveyourself. It’snot evena requirement for you tobe lovedbyGod. Jesuswassenttodieforus“whilewewerestillsinners.”Do you believe the Bible? Really? Then youmust believe that you arefearfullyandwonderfullymade.Someonehasrightlysaid,“IknowIamlovable—Goddon’tmakenojunk!”Youarenotperfect,butyouare lovedbyGod,youare lovedbyothers,andyoucanloveyourself.Let’sdelvefurtherintothattomorrow.Atthismoment,pauseandthankGodthatHeconsidersyousowonderful!

DAY30

ILOVEMYSELF!CanIReallyLoveMyself?

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think ofyourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself withsober judgment, in accordancewith themeasureof faithGodhasgivenyou. (Romans12.3)In the verse above, we often focus on the words, “Do not think ofyourselfmore highly than you ought,” andmiss the balance of “ratherthinkofyourselfwithsoberjudgment, inaccordancewiththemeasureoffaithGodhasgivenyou.”Yousee,Paulcouldjustaseasilyhavebegunthisverse,“Donotthinkofyourselfmore lowly thanyouought…”Why,then,didhesayitthisway?Twothingswereprobablyatwork.First,ashumans,wedo in general have a tendencyway too often to be selbishandprideful.Weallwantourownway.Second,PaulwaswritingtothechurchinRome,thecapitalcityoftheempire,andtheylikelystruggledevenmorewiththis.Properself-loveincludesknowingthatGodmadeuswonderfully,aswenoted yesterday. We love ourselves just because. We take care ofourselves.We nurture ourselves.We allow God to “restore our souls”daily as we live in this often difbicult world.We go to Jesus with ourneeds,castingourcaresonHimandbindingrestinHim.Butself-lovealsocomesaswemakeasoberself-assessmentofwhoweare. It’s justaswrongto feelmore lowlyaboutourselvesas toohighly.Proper love for self acknowledges and appreciates our own strengthswithoutignoringordenyingourfoiblesandsins.Itishardtogetpastourownpointsofviewandbiases,butonewritermadethepointbasedonthisversethatapaintershouldbeabletoviewhisownpaintinginagallerywithothersandmatter-of-factlyjudgeitasbetter thansomeandnotasgoodasotherssimplybecause itwasandwith no sense of pride or jealousy regarding the other painters andpaintings. He is able to soberly assess his painting just as he soberlyassessestheothersbasedonhistrainingandexpertise.Similarly, God wants us to appreciate the gifts, the talents, and thegrowthwemakeinlife.Hewantsustolovewhoweareandwhowearebecoming. He doesn’t want us to put others down to make ourselveslook better, nor doesHewant us to feel devalued because the gifts ofothers surpassourown.Wearenot in competitionwithothers to feelgoodaboutourselves.Weshouldnotcompareourselveswithothers.Ifanything,we can comparewhoweare towhowe couldbe, using thatcomparisonasamotivatortomakecontinualprogress.Doyouloveyourself?LoveyourselfforwhoGodmadeyouandforthesimple fact that youbelong toHim.Beyond that, learn to treasure theprogressyouaremakingasyougrowinHim.Thinkonthesethings…

DAY31

ILOVEMYSELF!WhatIsProperSelfLove?

DonothingoutofselfishambiZonorvainconceit,butinhumilityconsiderothers be_er than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to yourowninterests,butalsototheinterestsofothers. (Philippians2.3-4)Whilethelastfewdayswehavebeenadvocatingthatweshouldhaveahealthy self-love, since we are to love our neighbors as we loveourselves,wecertainlywant tomaintain theproperbalance.SinceourLord teachesus tobehumble,we sometimes can fall into the errorofself-loathing rather than self-loving. Yet, we need to remember thatthere isaditchonbothsidesoftheroad.ManyoftheteachingsofourLordhavedangerswhentakinganextremepositiononeitherside.Weerr, as we have seen, when we fail to have proper self-love. But welikewiseerrwhenwedon’t trulyunderstandGod’s ideaofproperself-esteem or proper self-love andmove into selbishness. And it must beadmittedthatthisistheerrorthatsomuchoftheworldfallsintomostofthetime.That’swhyPaulsaidinRomans12,“don’tthinkmorehighlyofyourselfthanyouought,”andwhyhesaysinthepassageabove,“donothingoutof selbish ambition.” It’s why Jesus taught us that greatness in thekingdom ismuch different from greatness in theworld. In theworld,greatness is power and authority; in God’s kingdom, greatness ishumilityandservice.Improper self-love elevates your owndesires above those of everyoneelse. Improper self-love is always looking out for “number one” to theexclusion of others. Improper self-love is manipulating others to getyour way. Improper self-love is doing unto others so they will dosomething for you. Improper self-love is always putting yourself birstand doing something for others onlywhen it is convenient. Improperself-loveshowsupwhenallyourprayerscenteronwhatyouwantandhowyouwantthingstoturnoutforyou.Yougettheidea.Paulisbeingverypracticalinhisadviceinthepassageabove.Heknowsthe struggle to get beyond ourselves is powerful. That’s why he says,“Considerothersbetterthanyourselves.”Theyarenotbetter;butifyouconsiderthembetter,youaremorelikelytothinkofwaystoservethem.We naturally look after our own interests. Paul says, essentially,whenyou love your neighbor as yourself, you look after his interests, too. Ifyousawapipeburst inyourneighbor’syard,you think, “Iwould takecareofthatifitwasinmyyard.Ishouldmakesuresomeoneoverthereknows.”Lovingothersasselfmeanslookingoutforeachother.Sohereisthebalance:Don’tthinktoohighlyofyourself.Don’tthinktoolowly,either.Think justright!Loveyourself.Takecareofyourself.Andthenloveyourneighborthatway,too.Howcanyoudothattoday?

DAY32

ILOVEMYSELF!WhatIsImproperSelfLove?

Jesussaid,“Youhaveheardthatitwassaid,‘Loveyourneighborandhateyour enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those whopersecuteyou,thatyoumaybesonsofyourFatherinheaven.Hecauseshissuntoriseontheevilandthegood,andsendsrainontherighteousandtheunrighteous.Ifyoulovethosewholoveyou,whatrewardwillyouget?Arenoteventhetaxcollectorsdoingthat?Andifyougreetonlyyourbrothers,whatareyoudoingmorethanothers?Donotevenpagansdothat?Beperfect,therefore,asyourheavenlyFatherisperfect.” (MaFhew5.43-48)“You’retakingthisabitfar,aren’tyou?‘IloveGod.’‘Ilovemychurch.’ ‘Ilovemycommunity.’Even ‘I lovemyself.’ I cangetonboardwithallofthese.But‘Ilovemyenemies’?Whatdoesthatevenmean,realistically?WhywouldIevendothat?Jesusoftenexaggeratedtomakepoints.HowdoweknowHewasn’tdoingthathere?”Honest thoughts and good questions. Let’s start with the obviousquestion:Whodoyou consider your enemies?Lovingyour enemies isprobably a rathermeaningless exercise ifwe think of littlemore thanenemies of our nation at any time in history. We rarely have theopportunity to show loveorhateother than to spoutoff ouropinionsaboutwhethercertaingroupsofpeopleshouldbeacceptedorrejectedinourmidstorwhatweshoulddoinresponsetowhattheydotous.While surely included, Jesus seems tobe talkingmore about thosewecomeintocontactwithonamoreregularbasisinourpersonallives.HislistenersprobablythoughtaboutRomansoldiersinIsrael,taxcollectorstakingtheirmoney,Samaritanstheymightseeastheytraveledbackandforth from Galilee to Jerusalem, business people who were takingadvantageofthem,andsimplythoseinthecommunitythattheydidn'tlikeanddidn'tgetalongwith!Andhere’sthedeal:Jesusmeantit.Why?WhywouldHetellustoloveourenemies?Twomainreasonsaregiven:1)BecauseGoddoes,and2)Itprovesyourfaith.Thinkaboutit:YouwereGod’senemy.HelovedyouenoughtosendJesustoliveanddieand be raised for you. But He shows love for enemies every day. Sundoesn’tjustshineonGod’sfriends.HesendsittoHisenemies,too.Raindoesn’tjustfallonthecropsofthosewholoveHim.Rainalsoissenttothecropsofthosewhoareunjust.GodlovesHisenemies.BelikeGod.Godcameto transformus.Hesaysweare tobe “perfect”orcomplete,like God. Ifwe love only thosewho love us, big deal! Evil people lovetheirown!Butwhenyou loveanenemy, it isapotentsign thatGod isreallyatwork,and it cansoften thehardestofhearts.Godhasproventhat to you; Hewants to use you to show others, too, as awitness tothem.Whomightyouconsideran“enemy”?Identifysomewhomightbethoughtofinsomewaysonsomedaystobe“enemies.”Prayforthem.

DAY33

ILOVEMYENEMIES?WhyWouldIDoThat?

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…. Do not repayanyoneevilforevil.Becarefultodowhatisrightintheeyesofeverybody.Ifitispossible,asfarasitdependsonyou,liveatpeacewitheveryone.Donot take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it iswri_en:“Itisminetoavenge;Iwillrepay,”saystheLord.Onthecontrary:“Ifyourenemyishungry,feedhim;ifheisthirsty,givehimsomethingtodrink. Indoing this,youwillheapburningcoalsonhishead.”Donotbeovercomebyevil,butovercomeevilwithgood. (Romans12.14,17-21)Yesterdayyouwereaskedtothinkofthosefromeverydaylifewhomightbe considered “enemies,” at least from time to time. Thismay includepeople you just don’t always get along with or whose opinions aredifferent from your own. Perhaps you have learned to simply ignorethemorstayoutoftheirway.Maybeyouleavethemalonewhenyoucan,butwhentheycomeatyou,yougiveitrightbacktothem.Now,forsomeontheperipheryofyourlife,youmaynothavethetimeoropportunitytodomuchabout,butforthosewhoareconstantlyinthetrafbicpatternsofyourlife,Godsaysthereisabetterwaythanignoringthose“enemies.”Thatbetterwayistolovethem.I’mnottalkingsomuchabouttryingtoengender a warm, syrupy feeling toward them; I’m talking abouttangiblyshowingcareandcompassionandseekingtheirgood.Howdowedothat?Thepassageabovegivessomegoodadviceofhowtodemonstrate love. It tellsus things todoandnot todo.Meditateonthese regarding your day-to-day “enemies.” Seek to bless them. Do agooddeed.Saysomethingnicewhenyouareable.Don’tcursethem.Inotherwords,don’twishevilonthemorcallthemnamesorspeakbadlyabout them. When they treat you poorly, don't reciprocate. That justampsupthebadfeelingsonbothsides.Youarethemoremature,soactlikeit!Bearwiththemasmuchasyoucan.PouroutyourhearttoGodabout them, asking for wisdom and trusting Him to avenge theirtreatmentofyou. It’sHis job,Hesays.PraythatGodwouldtouchtheirhearts. We may actually begin to feel compassion when we pray forthose who mistreat us. We may have pity that their lives must be somiserable that they go aroundhurtingothers andputting themdown,perhapstomakethemfeelbetterabouttheirownfailedlives!Hopefully, putting these commands into practice will ultimately makethem feel ashamed.While there is no guarantee, it will often happen,anditistherightthingtodo.Arethereexceptions?Iamsurethereare.Someilltreatmentisterribleabuseandmustbedealtwith.WehumblyaskGodtogiveuswisdomandseekthecounseloftrustedfriends.Lookagainatthelastlineofourpassage:“Donotbeovercomebyevil,butovercomeevilwithgood.”That’swhyweloveourenemies!Wewillnotletthemdragusdowntoevil.Prayaboutthesethingsrightnow…

DAY34

ILOVEMYENEMIES?HowDoIDoThat?

Jesus said, “Blessedare thepeacemakers, for theywill be called sonsofGod.” (MaFhew5.9)AswethinkmoredeeplyaboutwhyGodtellsustoloveourenemies,wemust conclude that it is more than simply a matter of obedience, asimportantasthatis.WehavesaidthatwearebeinglikeGodasweloveourenemies,forHedemonstratedHisloveforusinthat“whilewewerestill sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5.8). He showed love to uswhen we were His enemies. Likewise, our willingness to love ourenemies shows the authenticityof our faith,which centerson love forGod and others. Anyone can love those who love him. We show webelongtoGodandhaveHisSpiritwhenwecanhavethismagnanimousloveforeventhosewhopersecuteormistreatus.Butthelong-termpurposeinlovingourenemiesisthehopeofturningthemintoourfriends—andintofriendsofGodiftheydon’tknowhim.We canoften giveup too easily on thosewithwhomwehave conblict.Sometimes we even play silly mental games with ourselves when wethinkofJesus’commandtoloveenemies:“HeisnotreallywhatIwouldcall an enemy. We just don’t hit it off.” We think that if we don’tcategorizethemasourenemies,wearen’tunderthecompulsiontolovethem.Hey—ifwearecalledtoloveourenemies,certainlywearetolovethose“neighbors”whodon’tquitereachthatstandardaswell!Even if you never developwhat youwould consider close friendships,loving our enemies is a way to make peace. And reread the passageabovetoseewhatJesussaidaboutpeacemakers.Back when I was in seminary, I had the opportunity to put this intopractice.IhadjustbeguntodateCindy,andshehadaroommatethatforsomeinexplicablereasondidn’t likemeatall.(Yes,Iknowit ishardtobelieve;thereactuallyweresomeotherissues,butthat’salongerstory!)I wasmeditating on the passagewe looked at yesterday that saidweshould“blessthosewhopersecute”us.While“persecution”mighthavebeentooharshaword,IbegantopraythatGodwouldallowmetoblessthisroommateinsomeway.Acoupleofweekslater,asIwasvisitingintheir apartment, this roommate left to go to work. She was back aninstantlater,sayingthatshehadablattire.Oh—anditwaspouringdownrain!Ismiled,thinkingtomyself,“God,yousurehaveasenseofhumor,but I am going to do it, because this is a direct answer tomy prayer.”AloudIsaid,“I’llgooutandchangeitforyou.”Well, shecouldn’tbelieve it,and Iwillhave tosay that thiswasoneofthose “best case scenarios.”Her attitude changed immediately, andwemadepeacebecauseofobediencetoJesus.AreyouwillingtoaskGodtogiveyoutheopportunitytoblessan“enemy”?TalktoHimaboutitnow...

DAY35

ILOVEMYENEMIES!TurningEnemiesintoFriends

IfIspeakinthetonguesofmenandofangels,buthavenotlove,Iamonlyaresoundinggongoraclangingcymbal.IfIhavethegi^ofprophecyandcanfathomallmysteriesandallknowledge,andifIhaveafaiththatcanmovemountains,buthavenotlove,Iamnothing.IfIgiveallIpossesstothepoorandsurrendermybodytotheflames,buthavenot love, Igainnothing. (1Corinthians13.1-3)Haveyou really stopped to considerwhat the apostlePaul is trying toget across in the verses above?He has beenwriting a long letter to achurch that has a lot of problems. One of the major problems was amisunderstandingandamisuseofspiritualgifts.Thesegifts,designedtobuildupthebodyofChrist(thechurch)andbringunity,insteadwereasourceofdivision!Apparently,memberswerearguingoverwhichofthegiftswere the “better” ones, and they thought if you had one of these“better”gifts,itwasasignofspiritualmaturity.(I’llgiveyouahint:mostpeoplethoughttheirowngiftswerethebestandsignsofmaturity.)Paul pleads with them in chapters 12-14 to understand that spiritualgifts are given as needed in the body, not as rewards for spiritualmaturity.Andjustbecauseonehadoneofthemoreblashyornoticeableor supernatural gifts doesn’tmake itmore needful ormore importantthanthemore“behindthescenes”gifts.In themidstof this section,he tells themamoresuresignof spiritualmaturity:love.That’sright,love.Paulsays,“Icanhavethesupernaturalgift to speak in languages I haven’t studied… I can have such a gift ofunderstanding and sharing God’s word that I know the depths of themysteriesofGod… I canhavesomuch faith that I canactuallymoveamountainbysimplybelieving...Icangiveallmymoneytothepooranddieamartyr’sdeathinthebire…—theseareallprettyimpressive,aren’tthey?—butiftheyarenotpracticedintheChristiangraceoflove,eachofthesethingsismeaningless.Letthatsinkinforafewmoments.Meditateoftheversesaboveagain.Paul is getting to the heart of the issue, andwe should know that theheart is the seatof love.40DaysofLovemaynot sound so special toyou.Youmaynotbindthisseriesofdailydevotionalsvery“powerful”or“deep.”Andmyownwritingaboutitmayleavemuchtobedesired.Butlove itself iswhat it is all about. The Greatest Commandments are allabout love.And in these verses today, Paul is giving us a breathtakingtruth, hoping we will receive it and understand it: Everything else isnothingwithoutlove.Our degrees, our accomplishments, our giving, our performances—withoutlove,theymeannothingandprobitusnothingofrealvalue.It’strue:thegreatestoftheseislove.Meditateonwhatthatmeans…

DAY36

THEGREATESTOFTHESEISLOVEEverythingIsNothingWithoutLove

WhoeverdoesnotlovedoesnotknowGod,becauseGodislove. (1John4.8)Weusethewordallthetime:love!Welovepeople.Welovefood.Weloveideas.Weloveconveniences.Welovepets.Welovetechnology.Welovethattelevisionshow.Welove,love,love!Atleast,wesaywedo.Isitreallylove?Youmaythinkit’sa little late—weareonDay37of40—tobegivingaworkingdebinitionof love,but itmaybejusttherighttimetofocusonwhat we really mean by love. For some, love is an emotion. It’ssomethingyoufeel.That’swhytalkof lovingenemiessounds likesuchnonsense.That’swhyacommandtoloveGodandothersseemssooutofplace.Wemayask,“Howcanyoucommandafeeling?”Many—maybe most—words have a breadth of meaning. We have asenseofwhat theymeanbasedonhowtheyareused inasentenceorparagraph.Likewise,ourwordlovecommunicatesmanydifferentthingstodifferentpeopleindifferentcontexts.Becauseofthat,otherlanguagesmighthaveseveraldifferentwordsthatallmightbecorrectlytranslatedinto English as love. In the Greek language at the time the NewTestament(NT)waswritten,forinstance,therewerefourorbiveuniquewords that could all be translated legitimately as love in English, andthreeofthoseareintheNT:storgeisaloveofbelonging,asaparentfora child, which is found a handful of times in the NT; philia (andphiladelphia) speak ofwarm affection, a brotherly love, which is usedoften;andagape’istheprimarywordweseewhentheNewTestamentspeaksofGod’sloveforus,ourloveforGod,andouruniqueloveforoneanother.ThiswordisalsofoundthroughouttheNT.Sinceitdidn’thavemanyotherconnotations,Christians“adopted”agape’asitsownuniquedescriptorofGod’skindofloveandgaveitarichdebinition.(Bytheway,anotherGreekwordthatwouldbetranslatedas love inEnglish iseros,whichsignibiesthelovebetweenamanandwoman.EroswastheGreekcounterparttotheRomanCupid intheirpantheonofgods, ifthatgivesyouabetterpicture.ThiswordisnotusedintheNT.)Thewayagape’isusedintheBible,itisclearthisloveisdifferentfromsimpleemotion—astrongfeelingofaffectionorattraction.Unlikesomeofourkindsof“love,”God’skindofloveisunconditional.Helovesusnomatterwhat—evenwhenwedisappointHim.Itisaloveofcommitmentthatstayssteadyandalwaysseeksthebestfortheobjectoflove.Itisaloveofaction—whatwechoosetodo.That’swhyitcanbecommanded,andthat’showwecanevenloveenemies.Inthenextcoupleofdays,wewill lookmoreat the characteristicsof this love.Fornow,meditateonyourownunderstandingofGod’skindoflove…

DAY37

THEGREATESTOFTHESEISLOVEIsItReallyLove?(Part1)

Love ispaZent, love iskind. Itdoesnotenvy, itdoesnotboast, it isnotproud.Itisnotrude,itisnotself-seeking,itisnoteasilyangered,itkeepsnorecordofwrongs. (1Corinthians13.4-5)YesterdaywebeganaskingthequestionaboutourloveforGodandoneanother,“Isitreallylove?”Andtheanswerdependsonwhatkindoflovewe are talking about. The highest and greatest love is signibied in theNewTestamentby theGreekwordagape’.This is the true standardofChristianlove.ItisthekindoflovedisplayedforusinGodsacribicingHisSonthatwemightbeforgivenofsinsandreceiveeternallife.Wesaidyesterdaythatthisloveisalovethatisdemonstrated.WerecallyetagainthetruthofScripture:“Goddemonstratedhisownloveforusin this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5.8).Since this love is something we do and a way we act, it can becommanded.Andthatletsusknowitismorethananemotion.But that isnot tosay thatemotion isabsent fromGod’s love.WeoftenfeelthewarmthofloveasweexperiencetheloveofGodandothersforusandasweexpresslovetoHimandothers.It’sjustthatemotionsarenotrequiredtopracticeGod’skindof love.Weare thankfulwhentheyare attached, but out of our commitment to the Lordship of Jesus,wepracticeloveevenwhenthefeelingsareabsent.In1Corinthians13,PaulgivesanexpandeddebinitionofGod’skindoflove.Let’snotesomeofthemtodayfromourpassageabove.Love is patient. It iswilling towait.Doyouwant toknow if you reallylovesomeonewithGod’skindoflove?Well,areyoupatient?Loveiskind.Itlooksforwaystohelpandtriestocommunicatecarewithwords,tone,andposturethatgoalongwithactions.Areyoukind?Love is not proud. Howmany times does our pride get in the way ofsaying “I was wrong” or “I’m sorry”? (Especially if we feel the otherperson was more “wrong” than we were!) If it’s really love, we mustlearntopracticehumility.Loveisnotrude.Dowesometimessaythe“right”words—sowecanhidebehindthem—butsaythemrudelyandsarcasticallysothatthemeaningistheoppositeofthewordsthemselves?Loveisnotself-seeking.Loveseekswhatitcangive,notwhatitcanget.Loveisnoteasilyangered.Howshortisyourfuse?Love keeps no record of wrongs. Do you bind yourself, when in a“discussion”withsomeoneelse,bringinguppastwrongsinanefforttoturnthetideandscorepoints?Didn’tyouforgive?Isitreallylove?Areyourtoesbruised?Mineare just fromwritingthis.Andwearenotthrough!Butenoughfortoday.Contemplateyourlife:Isitreallylove?

DAY38

THEGREATESTOFTHESEISLOVEIsItReallyLove?(Part2)

Lovedoesnotdelightinevilbutrejoiceswiththetruth.Italwaysprotects,alwaystrusts,alwayshopes,alwaysperseveres.Loveneverfails. (1Corinthians13.6-8)In1Corinthians13,Paulcontinuesabovewithhisdescriptivedebinitionoftheagape’love—God’skindoflove,Hisunconditionallovethatcanbeshownwithorwithoutaccompanyingfeelings.Lookatsomeoftheseadditionalcharacteristicsoflove.TheyhelpsusevaluateifourloveisGod’skindoflove—thekindHeshowstousandthekindHeiswantingtobuildintousthroughHisSpiritandHisword.Lovedoesnotdelightinevilbutrejoiceswiththetruth.Doyouseektounderstandtruemotives—thoseofyourselfandothers?AreyoualwaysseekingGod’sbestandGod’struthratherthanwhatseemseasyorconvenientatthemoment?Lovealwaysprotects.Areyouprotectingorhurtingthoseyoulove?Lovealwaystrusts,alwayshopes…Areyoushowingtrusttothoseyoulove?Areyoulivinginwaysyoucanbetrusted?Haveyougivenuponlove,ordoyoucontinuetoholdouthopeforthefuture?Lovealwaysperseveres.Loveneverfails.Itiseasytogiveuponpeople.It’seasytogiveuponGod.Truelovedoesn’ttreatGodorothersasdisposables—usingthemforawhilebeforetossingthemaside.Lovehangson.Lovedoesn’tgiveup.Lovenever,everfails.Wehaveonlyscratchedthesurface.TrulymeditateonthesepassagesofScriptureandothersaboutlove.Usethesetoevaluateyourownlife.Isitreallylovethatyouhave?Moreprecisely,isitreallyGod’skindoflove?I mentioned earlier that God’s kind of love can be practiced with orwithout what we consider the “warm and fuzzy” feelings that we sooftenassociatewith love.Manystrugglewiththis idea.Theywonder iftheyarenotbeinghypocriteswhentheyshowlovetoothersiftheydon’tfeelany“love”towardthem.That’sagoodquestion.LetmetellyouthewayIseeit.Imagineasceneinheaven.Godandoneofhisangelsarelookingdownonearth.Theyarewatchingyoubeingpatientandkindwithsomeoneyoudon’treally likea lot,helpinghimeventhoughyoucouldbedoingsomethingelse,somethingyoumightratherbedoing.IcanimagineGodpointing you out to the angel, saying, “Do you see the way that he isshowing love to that other person?” “Yes, Lord; it is wonderful!” theangelmightreply.“Youknowsomething?Hedoesn’tevenlikehim!Heisshowingloveforonlyonereason:becauseIaskedhimto!”Marvelous!Itiseasytoshowlovetolovablepeople.ThetestofGod’skindofloveishowwetreatthosewhoaren’tlovabletous.Thinkaboutthoseyoulove.Doyouloveoutofyourownself—orisitreallyGod’skindoflove?

DAY39

THEGREATESTOFTHESEISLOVEIsItReallyLove?(Part3)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest oftheseislove. (1Corinthians13.13)WhatisthedebiningcharacteristicofthebelieverinJesus?Letme encourage you to read all of 1 Corinthians 13.Whilewe havelookedatmostofitthelastfewdays,itwouldbegoodforyoutoreaditallatonetime.It’sshort;takeamomenttodothatrightnow…So, now that you have reread it, is there any doubt as to the debiningcharacteristic of the believer in Jesus? Perhaps, though,we had betterrevisit what Jesus Himself said. When asked about the greatestcommandment in the Law, Jesus gave two in His answer: “The mostimportant one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord ourGod, the Lord is one.Love the Lord yourGodwith all your heart andwithallyoursoulandwithallyourmindandwithallyourstrength.’Thesecond is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is nocommandmentgreaterthanthese”(Mark12.29-31).Jesusalsosaidthis:“BythisallmenwillknowthatyouareMydisciples,ifyouloveoneanother”(John13.35).ThatapostleJohnwroteaboutthepreeminenceofloveoverandoverinhisletterwecall1John.Thisapostleisreferredtoas“thedisciplethatJesus loved” in the gospel of John, and he was given the moniker,appropriatelyenough,“TheApostleofLove.”JohnwasapastorinEphesusformanyyearsinthebirstcentury.Thereisatraditionthatistoldofhimteachingagroupofdisciplesthere.Hemetwiththemdayafterday,teachingthemaboutJesusandtheeternal lifewe have through Him, teaching them to follow Him in all things. Hisemphasis in teaching these disciples was always love—God’s love forthemandtheirloveforGodandoneanother,thesameemphasisweseeintheletterof1John.Onedayoneofthedisciples,eagertolearnmoreand a bit frustrated bywhat he considered repetition, is said to havecomplained,“BrotherJohn,allyouevertalkaboutislove.Whenareyougoingtoteachussomethingelsebesideslove?”TheapostleJohnissaidtohave lookedat thisdisciplewithpatienceandkindnessandreplied,“Thereisnothingelseexceptlove…love…love.”The apostle Paul said it thisway: “And now these three remain: faith,hopeandlove.Butthegreatestoftheseislove.”TheFatherlovedusandsentHisSon.TheSonlovedusandgaveHislife.Letus love, too!Letussay, “I loveGod!”But letusalsosay, “I lovemychurch!Ilovemycommunity!Ilovemyself!Iloveevenmyenemies!”Yes, it istrue:thegreatestoftheseislove.Liveinlovetodayandeveryday,forthisisthedebiningcharacteristicofourlifeinChrist…forever.

DAY40

THEGREATESTOFTHESEISLOVEYes,theGreatestofTheseIsLove

Thankyouforparticipatingin40DaysofLove.

Doyouhaveanycommentsaboutyourexperience?Anyinsightstoshare?Anysuggestionsforfutureemphases?

Pleasesendanemailtofred@ancientcitybaptist.orgormailanoteto40DaysofLoveAncientCityBaptistChurch27SevillaSt.SaintAugustine,FL32084

Youmayalsocontactusthroughourwebsiteandbyphone:www.ancientcitybaptist.org(904)829-3476

MayGodblessusallaswelovehimandoneanother!

PastorFred

40DaysofLove