30 Days of Love - Day 5: God Will Show You How to Love

Day 5: God Will Show You How to Love

(Click here for Day 4)

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5 (NLT)

One of the most important things I’ve learned about walking in love is that it means different things to different people. How God leads me to walk in love toward the people in my life may be different than how God leads you to walk in love toward the people in your life. God knows what will reach them, and it’s not going to be the same thing for every person.

For example, giving some people a bouquet of flowers would be an appreciated gesture. For others, they may not be able to get beyond the thought that those flowers will just die in a couple of days. They might wish you’d given them some cash instead, so they could pick up some extra groceries for their family.

What’s awesome is that we don’t have to guess. If we ask God to show us how to love someone, He will. Since Jesus commanded us to love one another the way He loves us, of course He’s going to show us how to do it!

For each person in your life, especially the ones that you seem to have the most strained relationships with, ask the Lord to show you how to love them. (Remember, God’s love isn’t about feelings, so while you do what God directs you to do, you may not feel so emotionally hot about it.) If you think that a certain someone in your life is just too hard of a nut to crack, remember that you have a mighty big God, and nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:27).

Also, be wary of not acting on God’s direction because it doesn’t make sense (remember what I said yesterday about seemingly little things having a big impact). Maybe He’ll give you a “first step” of taking someone out for a cup of coffee. Or maybe He’ll tell you to send a handwritten letter to someone when you could just email them instead. Trust that God knows what He’s doing, and do whatever He says (John 2:5).

Homework:

God wants to give His wisdom to us, but we have to be open to it. If you’ve been feeling at a loss about what steps to take next, ask Him to show you! Write down what He tells you, and act on it.

30 Days of Love - Day 4: Sowing and Reaping

Day 4: Sowing and Reaping

(Click here for Day 3)

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

If you wanted to grow some fresh oregano, what would you do? You’d plant some oregano seeds! When those oregano seeds were fully grown, you wouldn’t be picking any tomatoes, basil, or roses—you’d be picking oregano. You wouldn’t be surprised to see the oregano either—you’d expect to see the oregano after planting oregano seeds!

Scripture makes it very clear that what we sow (plant) in life, we will also reap (harvest). Just like you would expect oregano to grow from oregano seeds, you should expect impatience to grow from the seeds of impatience you’ve been planting.

One of the things the Lord taught me early on was that if I sowed love into others, I would reap a harvest of love. Until that point, I had been mostly planting discontent, pride, bitterness, rudeness, selfishness…and boy, had I been reaping that harvest.

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 (NLT)

If you’ve been feeling like people aren’t there for you when you need them, or they aren’t very patient with you, start examining your own behavior. Are you often short-tempered with people? Do you take time out of your busy day to do good to someone else, or do you blow it off because you’re just “too busy” and they should “learn how to help themselves”? Maybe you don’t even need to think very long before you can come up with areas where you’ve been sowing in negative ways.

Start sowing God’s love! As we’ve already seen, God’s love is so different. It doesn’t give up, it’s not self-centered—it gives, and gives, and gives some more! God has sown His love into our hearts, and look at the harvest He’s reaping in all of us! Not only that, but He’s given us a chance to get in on the action.

I remember one incident where I had a choice to do something nice, at a moment that was inconvenient, for someone who didn’t seem to have a care in the world about what I’d like to do, or doing nice little things for me. I was about to grouse and refuse, but the Holy Spirit jumped up inside: “You reap what you sow.” I got up and did what I needed to do.

Believe me, my brain and my emotions argued with me about it, but I was serious about doing things God’s way, and that meant obeying the direction He gave me at that moment. Looking back, I believe that decision was a turning point in my relationship with that person, and it was just a tiny, tiny thing He asked me to do. Don’t let the devil trick you into thinking small things can’t make a huge impact.

I’m sure by now the Holy Spirit has pinpointed something about the way you’ve been sowing. If so, you can deal with it right now by praying something like this (if not, then ask Him to show you):

“Father, forgive me for behaving that way and not walking in love. I ask you to tear up those crops of (jealousy, hate, unforgiveness, pride—whatever it is) and show me how to sow love into other people’s lives. I am serious about doing things Your way, and I thank You for helping me to continue growing in You.”

God’s love benefits everyone. The people in your life will be blessed, and you will be blessed. It’s a win-win kind of thing. 

Homework:

Pray the prayer I wrote above. While you’re at it, take the time to forgive anyone you’ve been holding grudges against, and ask the Lord to bless those people. Take it a step further and ask Him if there’s anything else you can do to sow His love into their lives.

Keepin' It Real - 30 Days of Love Edition

Just wanted to send a little shoutout to readers out there: don't give up or get frustrated!

Yesterday, I got miffy with my daughter, and believe me, she knew it.

Today, I've struggled for most of the afternoon to not flip my lid.

Breathe! Relax! Just repent, forgive anyone who's been a butthead to ya today, and know I love you.

And go watch a funny video! ;D

30 Days of Love - Day 3: You Can Love the Way God Loves

Day 3: You Can Love the Way God Loves

(Click here for Day 2)

“Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.“ Romans 5:5 (AMPC)

It may seem impossible to love others the way God loves them, but I’m here to tell you that’s a lie. The Scripture above shows us that God’s love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. If you’re a believer, then you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, since your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19

Now, understand that since the Holy Spirit resides in you, everything God is resides in you too (the Holy Spirit is God, right?). God’s love is in you, you just have to make the choice to act on it. So don’t allow yourself to accept such thoughts as “Oh, it’s just too hard to love them. I can’t do it!” It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you’ve chosen not to in the past, and that’s how you’re used to reacting. But now you’re learning a better way (1 Corinthians 12:31).

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

It’s really important for you to remember that you are more than just a physical body (go back to the Introduction if you’re not sure what I mean). It’s your flesh that wants to “bite and devour” others and get payback. But inside, the Holy Spirit will nudge you to forgive, to be kind to them, and to resist behaving rudely. It’s up to you to choose which prompt you will follow.

Jesus wouldn’t have commanded us to love without giving us the power to obey it, and God did just that when He poured His love into your heart. You can do it!

Homework:

At the end of Day 1, I had you read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and say “God” wherever you saw “love.” Today I want you to replace “love” with the word “I” like this: “I am patient… I am kind…” and so on.

If it bugs you somehow to read it that way, then go back and reread the Scriptures you’ve seen in today’s devotion. It is God’s will for you to walk in His love, so He has no problem with you tapping into that by speaking His Word over your life.

30 Days of Love - Day 2: Love – How People Know You’re the Real Deal

Day 2: Love – How People Know We’re the Real Deal

Did you miss day 1? Click here!

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

How do you know what a disciple of Jesus looks like? Can you tell by how much they go to church? Can you tell by the clothes they wear? Can you tell by how much they give to charity? If you think you can spot a disciple of Jesus by these things, then you’re looking at the wrong stuff.

Jesus knew the one thing that would let people know we were His disciples, and He let us know what that one thing is in John 13:35. He said that others would know we’re really His disciples by our love for one another. Not by the amount of time we spend in prayer, how much we read our Bibles, or by how faithful we are to attend church—but by our love.

Think about what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. He said that he could do all sorts of excellent things like giving away all of his money, and having faith enough to move mountains, but added that if he didn’t have love, it was all useless. When our actions aren’t based in love, we’re off the mark.

Jesus said similar things:

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. Matthew 6:5

Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. Matthew 23:3-5

How many times have you heard a non-believer say that they won’t go to church (or whatever) because Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites? It’s because they’ve heard Christians saying one thing, and then doing another. They hear us quote 1 Corinthians 13 and John 3:16, but then they see us behaving rudely, gossiping, and otherwise acting like jerks. Instead of seeing the power of God operating in our lives because we’re obedient to the Word, they get the idea that it’s just another religion—a pointless, rigid, bondage-filled religion. We shouldn’t be surprised that they don’t want it.

It’s time to repent and get it right! It’s time to make them hungry for what we have, rather than turn their stomachs.

I know, it’s not easy to see the stark truth—but guess what? It’s knowing the truth that sets you free (John 8:32). Repent, ask God where He wants you to start with your “love walk,” and get goin’!

Homework:

Ask the Father to give you wisdom on how to live your life in such a way that it makes other people curious—that makes them hungry for whatever it is you’ve got. Write down whatever wisdom He gives you, and act on it. Read over some sections of the Gospels and pay close attention to how Jesus dealt with people.

30 Days of Love - Day 1: God's Kind of Love

Day 1: God's Kind of Love

If you didn't read yesterday's introduction post, click here.

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8

This world does its best every day to convince us that love is about feeling happy. Thing is, “happy” evaporates fast when someone does or says something that doesn’t make us happy.

Real love, God’s love, is not about emotions. We might experience emotions along with God’s kind of love, but God’s love isn’t about feeling happy. His love squares its shoulders and does what it needs to do, no matter what emotions may be crowding around for attention at the moment.

Since the point of this book is to come away from the world’s way of thinking and get your mind renewed (Romans 12:2) to how God thinks, we really should go over God’s definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

These verses stand in stark contrast to the definition of love that the enemy has pawned off on the world. Let’s look at it this way:

God’s love: Patient.
World’s “love”: Patient until you tick me off.

God’s love: Kind.

World’s “love”: Kind until you tick me off. 

God’s love: Forgive.

World’s “love”: Forgive until you do something to tick me off again, then I throw the thing I had supposedly forgiven you for back in your face. 

I think you get the point. 

When our idea of love is based on how we feel, it isn’t really love. As you know, feelings change and flop all over the place, but God’s love remains steadfast. The more we get our minds changed to think like He does about love, the more solid and stable we will be as people. We’ll get to a place where we aren’t tossed into mental and emotional torment when someone acts imperfectly in our direction. 

Please note that I am not suggesting we become a bunch of doormats. God isn’t a doormat, is He? His love for us is so strong, that He gave the most precious gift He could offer: His Son (John 3:16, Romans 8:32). But yet, He has to say some pretty hard stuff to us now and then. There will be times when we have to say hard things to others as well. It’s called “speaking the truth in love,” and we’ll get more into that later on. For now, just get a grip on the idea that your vision of love has been warped and skewed, and it’s time to get it straight.

Homework:

As you read at the beginning of today’s devotion, the Bible says that God is love. With that in mind, I want you to read over 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 a little differently than you may have in the past. Read it out loud, and wherever it says “love,” say “God” instead. “God is patient… God is kind…” Realize as you read that this is how God is toward you. 

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You: 30 Days of Love

Well, I guess the blog isn't physically near you... but it is technologically near you, and that's (wait for it) close enough!

So, I've been writing a book for about a decade now. It's a devotional book on the subject of God's love, and it holds a lot of the lessons I've learned (and keep learning) over the years. Part of the delay. I think, is that I gave sway here and there to thoughts like "Um. You spazzed out on X last week. You have no right to be telling people anything about love."

Um, excuse me, stupid thought, but I think people need to know that a real person, with real emotions, has had success with doing things His way—in spite of some moments of stumbling. No one learning a new skill does it perfectly at first!

Starting soon, I'm going to be posting one devotion from the book each day. There are thirty days, as you might have guessed from the title of this post, and I am really excited to share it all with anyone who'll read it. I mean, if you find out about something you think other people who enjoy, you'd text 'em, call 'em, and maybe Facebook post about it, because it's just so cool.

I'll kick stuff off today by posting the intro to the book. Peace!

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Introduction

I spent years hearing and reading all of the scriptures contained in this book. I could quote them all, but they didn’t have a whole lot of impact on my life. I often wondered what the deal was. It didn’t really seem like the Bible worked. Oh, I wanted to believe it did, but something was off.

After too many years passed, I finally realized that the problem was not with the Bible. It was with me (duh). I was hearing what the Bible said, but I was not doing what the Bible said. Real change didn’t come until I decided to take the Word of God seriously and started doing what it says.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.  James 1:22-25, NLT

This book was written so that you could benefit from all that I’ve learned over the last several years. God wants to move you from being a hearer only into hearing and doing. We, as the Body of Christ have spent far too long “amening” Bible verses, but not experiencing Bible results, and it’s in our power to change that!

Notice in the verses from James above that he says the Word sets you free, and that if you do what it says, God will bless you! I like the idea of being free and blessed. And I am so much more free and blessed than I was just a few short years ago, and it’s all because I made a choice to hear and do.

The purpose of this book is to get your mind renewed (changed) to how God thinks by giving you small chunks of biblical teaching on the subject of love for thirty days. Thirty isn’t a magical number—it’s just a good, solid length of time to spend immersing yourself in what God has to say about love.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2, NLT

I also want you to know right now that I do not walk this “love walk” perfectly. I still mess up, get attitude with people, say and do selfish things, and act like a spoiled brat at times. I can only do what I will advise you to do here in this book—repent and get back to it. I want you to get that this book was not written by some higher-than-y'all Christian (though I am holy–1 Peter 2:9) who is just loving and kind all the time. This is a lifelong adventure, after all.

One more thing before I close this introduction! It’s important for you to realize that you are a being made up of three parts: you are a spirit, that has a soul (consisting of your mind, your will, and your emotions), and lives in a body. Knowing this will help you in so many ways as you progress down this road of following after God.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

I want you to treat this book as though you’re sitting down with a trusted friend over some coffee or tea. Realize that this book was not written to make you feel guilty. It was written to encourage you to start where you are and keep on growing in the things of God.

I believe in you!

- Tammy