30 Days of Love - Day 27: Faith Comes by Hearing

Day 27: Faith Comes by Hearing

(Click here for Day 26)

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

What? I’m talking about faith now? Yes I am. Because guess what? Without faith, you can’t truly walk in the God kind of love. Faith is believing what you can’t see yet, and if you don’t have faith that God’s Word works, you won’t experience Word results. I want you to experience results, and so does God!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

When you start walking in love, you do it because you believe (have faith) that God’s Word will work. You’ve seen how you reap what you sow on Day 4. You’ve put your faith in it. You don’t see evidence of any change yet, but because God said so, you count it as true. Faith expects to see results.

If some time has passed, and you feel your faith is floundering, then it’s time for you to strengthen your faith. Faith doesn’t come by asking God for it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (see today’s verse). And really, to keep your faith from floundering in the first place, you should make it a habit to read and meditate on the Scriptures and listen to teaching (if you’re looking for excellent teaching and other resources on walking in love, click here). This will keep you built up—just like feeding your physical body food keeps its strength up.

Here’s another thing: the Bible says that faith works by love:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that he could enough faith to move mountains, but if he didn’t have love, it was useless. Here he is telling us again that faith works through love. The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition says, “faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.” When we walk in God’s love, we’re walking with real purpose.

Homework:

Get your Bible and look at 1 Corinthians 13 again. Remind yourself of what God’s love is. It would be a good idea to speak this portion of Scripture over yourself frequently. Meditate on what it means. Ask the Lord to show you any areas you’ve been missing it lately, if any. Keep up the good work!

30 Days of Love: Resources

Resources

Here are a few resources that have helped me a whole lot!

Keeping the Love Command - an eleven-part teaching series by Keith Moore 

What Love Does - a nine-part teaching series by Keith Moore

Love: The Way to Victory - a book by Kenneth E. Hagin

How to Walk in Love - a mini book by Kenneth E. Hagin

Marriage specific:

All of the Marriage Meetings  taught by Keith and Phyllis Moore

Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage by Kenneth E. Hagin

30 Days of Love - Day 26: God Leads Us to the Victory

Day 26: God Leads Us to the Victory

(Click here for Day 25)

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

I want you to give your attention to one word in the verse above for now: always. God always leads us in triumph in Christ. Every time, all the time, in any event, no matter what the circumstances may be, He leads us to triumph—to victory. God will not lead you to failure. If He’s always leading you in triumph, that leaves absolutely zero room for Him to lead you to failure. Get this in your heart!

I love that it says He will lead you to triumph. Step by step, God will get you there. When you trust God and follow His plan, it will lead you to the victory. It doesn’t matter how dark or bleak the picture looks right now, you will have it.

As always with God, your victory isn’t just about you. By leading you to triumph, God is spreading knowledge of Himself to the people you come in contact with. God’s plan is to reveal Himself to the world through you. This brings us right back to what Jesus said in John 13:35—that the world would know we were His disciples by our love for one another.

Remember Day 21, where we talked about how love never fails? It's all connected! If you walk in His love—you will not fail. You will have the victory, and you’ll bring others along for the ride!

Homework:

Think about the things the Lord has directed you to do since you started reading this book. Those steps are part of your victory path, so keep going!

30 Days of Love - Day 25: Seek First the Kingdom

Day 25: Seek First the Kingdom

(Click here for Day 24)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Right before this verse, Jesus was telling the multitudes not to worry about what they would eat, or what they would wear, because their Father knows they need these things. Then He told them what they should do—seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and God would handle all their stuff.

Look at the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition’s version of this verse:

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

Seeking after God’s righteousness above everything else means you are seeking His way of doing things. Isn’t that awesome? And that’s what this whole book is about: renewing your mind to think the way God does, so you can do things the way God wants you to do them. Let’s move on to some practical applications to help you get this.

Let’s say you finally save enough money to buy that expensive watch you’ve been drooling over for so long. It’s so shiny and gorgeous! You wear it for a day, and as you go to slip it on the next morning, you sense the Holy Spirit prompting you to give it to someone you work with. Immediately your flesh starts whining in that awful, nasally voice: I’ve saved so long! I’ve only worn it once, and now God wants me to give it away? That’s so not fair!

But, if you really believe what God says, you’ll do it. He said if you'll put His kingdom and His righteousness first, He’ll add everything else you could ever want or need. Your “Boss” has put you on assignment to bless someone on His behalf. 

Think of companies here on earth. If an earthly boss sends an employee to purchase a gift for a client or business partner, they don't expect that employee to pay for it out of their own pocket. God surely wouldn’t require it either! Give the watch. God will take care of you.

Maybe God’s calling you to fulltime ministry and you’re scared because you think you won’t have steady income. Brother or sister, God wouldn’t call you into anything without fully furnishing all you need to get it done (1 Corinthians 9:7-11, Philippians 4:19). You wouldn’t let your family starve or go without if you could help it, and I’d say that God is a much better parent (Matthew 7:11, James 1:7). He won’t let you or your family go without. He promised!

Homework:

Every time you choose to do things God’s way, including walking in love, you are lining yourself up for God’s provision. Don’t let worry, fear, or pressure from other people keep you from following after the Lord. Read Matthew 7:7-12, Timothy 4:8, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 35:27, and Psalm 37:3-5.

30 Days of Love - Day 24: Zero Strife Policy

Day 24: Zero Strife Policy

(Click here for Day 23)

“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” James 3:16 (KJV)

Strife—arguing, bickering, people getting offended over the smallest of things—seems to be the norm nowadays. It’s up to us to put a stop to it.

In the verse above, the New King James Version translates the Greek word for strife as “self-seeking,” and it still fits, because the root of any strife is people seeking to push their own thoughts, needs, or agendas. Also, the Greek word for “strife” here means “electioneering for office,” “a desire to put one’s self forward,” and “partisanship.”

Think about presidential campaigns you’ve kept an eye on. They’re all about the candidates putting themselves out there. While it’s important for them to let us all know what they stand for, most candidates rarely mention their opponents unless it’s to smear them. It can leave you wondering if they really do want to help their country, or if they’re in it just for the bump in their own status (pride).

Don’t we oftentimes behave this way in our relationships? We put ourselves center stage, make everything about us. When we do, we’re letting strife through the door. 

If that isn’t enough to convince you that strife is a really nasty thing, you need to grasp that strife isn’t just strife. It isn’t just being selfish. The Bible says that when strife is present, confusion and every evil thing come along with it. (Have you ever noticed that you feel confused when you’re upset about something?) Strife is how minor arguments turn into major blowouts, abuse, and even murder. (Yes, murder. It has to start somewhere, right?) It’s because it brings every other evil thing along with it.

You need to adopt a “Zero Strife Policy.” If you’ll refuse to allow strife into your life, you are also refusing to allow confusion and everything else that’s evil into your life.

So how do you stop strife? Submit to the Lord, and resist the devil.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Submitting yourself to God by choosing to walk in love rather than strife will stop the mess before it gets started. If someone’s rude to you and you sense your emotions getting fluffy about it, submit yourself to the Lord. Refuse to obey your flesh. Don’t let one person’s moment of fleshiness ruin the entire day for either of you. God had plans for this day, and you have the power to make sure the devil doesn’t get you, or anyone else, out of those plans. Let the Lord deal with the other person’s heart. You are only responsible for your actions.

While strife can enter your life through other people, you also have to pay attention to the things you read, watch, and listen to. I had to stop watching the news so much. It got to the point where all it would do was make me mad, which was affecting the atmosphere of my home. It had to go! So if there’s anything that causes strife in your life continually, it’s time to cut it off. If it’s a person causing strife, pray about it. The Lord may want you to put some distance between you and that person.

Homework:

Make a list of things that tend to aggravate your flesh the most. Ask the Holy Spirit to talk to you about your list. Write down the direction you receive for each item on your list. Do whatever He leads you to do. 

30 Days of Love - Day 23: Speaking the Truth in Love

 Day 23: Speaking the Truth in Love

(Click here for Day 22)

“But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

Love isn’t always about saying things that are encouraging or easy to hear. Speaking the truth sometimes involves speaking it to someone who may not want to hear it, or speaking something that seems harsh. (Parents, you can dig it. We love 'em, but love also means we have to correct them, at times! [Proverbs 3:12]) But, speaking the truth must always be done in love. There is to be no telling someone what you think just because you think they need to hear it. We need to be very careful to follow the Holy Spirit and not sail off on our own. This will keep us from creating an even bigger mess.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

Speaking the truth in love is to be done for someone’s edification—to build them up. God will never direct you to speak to someone in a way that tears them down or belittles them.

Sometimes it is a very fine line between corrupt speech and edifying speech. Jesus often had not-so-nice things to say to the religious leaders of His day. He called them a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33) and “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). He even said they were of their father, the devil (John 8:44)! That’s all pretty harsh, isn’t it? But yet, Jesus didn’t sin once when He was here on the earth, so we know that He didn’t step out of line when He said those things (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians5:21).

What you didn’t find Jesus doing was telling them that God hates them. So, please know that God will not direct you to tell anyone that. God loves people. He doesn’t like the sin they get entangled in, but it is His will for them to get out of all that mess and get into His Kingdom. This is why it’s so important for us to be led by the Spirit. God knows exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it, to give any person what they need to hear at that point in their life.

We are told throughout the Scriptures to exhort one another. So if you feel that the Lord is prompting you at times to speak something, but you think it’s too hard, please don’t ignore it just because of that. You check with the Holy Spirit about it, and you speak it when you get the go ahead! Your obedience may be what the Lord uses to deliver that person from disaster.

Now, if a brother or sister says something to you that stings a bit, don’t get offended. It may very well be that the Lord led them to say that to you. Check with Him on it. Be quick to repent if you find it was Him, and make sure to thank the person who helped you when the time is right to do so. Just because something doesn’t make us feel good right away doesn’t mean it wasn’t the Lord.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:12-13

Homework:

Read Ephesians 4:1-16, Titus 2, Hebrews10:19-25, and Hebrews 12:1-11.

30 Days of Love - Day 22: How Your Daddy Loves You

Day 22: How Your Daddy Loves You

(Click here for Day 21)

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” John 17:23

When I was first born again, I heard that God loved me. I found out that He loved me enough to send His son Jesus to die for me. I was fully convinced God did love me. What I didn’t realize then was just how much He loves me. One day years later, my attention was directed to the verse above. Look at it closely. Read it a few times out loud. I’ll wait. 

Okay, so did you catch it? If you did—you may not even need to read any further right now. If you didn’t, well let me help you! Jesus said “that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

God loves you just as much as He loves Jesus! 

And how much does the Father love Jesus? Well, the Bible says that when John baptized Jesus, a voice was heard from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

You are beloved of God, and He is well pleased with you! You are God’s favorite child! He wouldn’t have sent His son to die for you if He didn’t think you were valuable. You are priceless to God. Don’t let the devil, the world, or any person tell you otherwise.

If you’ve been living your life thinking that you aren’t worth much, take hold of this right now. God loves you. On top of that, He loves you as much as He loves Jesus. 

I want you to get in the habit of saying out loud: “God loves me just as much as He loves Jesus.” You don’t even have to believe it quite yet. Just meditate on it and let it sink into your heart.

If I came to you and offered you, as a gift, every last thing you’ve been wanting, wouldn’t you get excited? God has done that for you. He went all out for you by sending Jesus.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

Here’s something else to consider: Jesus said that He only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19), and we’re told in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus is the express image of God. Often times we separate the Father and Son in such a way that the Son is the one who is loving, while the Father is the stern one. Not so. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. He healed the sick (Matthew 4:24, and time and time again throughout the Gospels). He protected the life of a woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-12). He was gentle with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42). He sacrificed Himself for you (Matthew 26:47-54, John 19:17-18).

Your Father loves you just like that.

Homework:

Go back into the Gospels and take another look at how Jesus interacted with mankind. As you read, remember that the Father loves you just the way Jesus loved those He came into contact with when He was here on the earth.