Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying another beautiful day. It looks like the rain has stopped for today; the sun is shinning beautifully, and I thank God for it. I'm doing well, just a little sleepy today. I was able to cut down my workout last night, but it still wasn't enough, I'll see what I can do tonight. It's an early day at the office, but I have everything I need to finish my spring rolls and get beef patties done tonight. The Kailua Pig is done; the rest is pretty easy, just a little tedious. Thank you for your prayers, and I'm grateful for this opportunity. Have a wonderful day; be sure to enjoy the sunshine!

Today's scriptures are about Love. Love can be such a controversial subject, because it's so versatile, and there are so many types of love, or ways to love. However the Love of God is often described as Agape, which is one the Greek words for love (we’ll touch on a few today). When using the term in the biblical sense, it means God's unconditional love. It's partly defined in Wikipedia as: divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful. Other types of love are: Eros, which is a romantic type of love, it doesn't have to be on a sexual level, but it’s more than a Philia type of love. Philia is a friendship type of love, which includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity. Storge love is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Lastly, Thelema is the desire to do something, to be occupied, or to be in prominence, e.g. my love for food and cooking. Love is love when it comes from God, and all of these different strings of love are all contingent to the Love of God. He loves us unconditionally, there's nothing that we could do or say, that could make Him ever stop loving us, because God is love. He sacrificed Himself, to bring us closer, and to make sure we have all that we need and any righteous thing that we desire. He wants us to love Him with the same Agape love He shows us. We could also love Him other ways like storge and philia, because He does give us the affection of a parent, and at times as a friend, who's closer than a brother. I've always said that I don't think anyone could truly know how to give, or receive the Eros type of love, until they experience God's love within them. It's hard to share something you've never experienced. We're made in His likeness, and we have that natural sense of love, but we don’t always know how to show it. We naturally love our parents, siblings, and our children, but that love isn't unconditional. I've seen it happen many times before, because some parents and children don't love each other, and brothers and sisters walk around like they're sworn enemies or strangers. Also, when men and women get married, and they profess they’re undying love for each other, but abuse happens. These things are possible because we haven't experienced God's love, or we haven't sought Him out. He always loves us, but do we always love him? Jesus did say in Mark 12:29-31 that this is the "first of all commandments... love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." What do we need to do to experience, and give, that type of Love? First and foremost, we need to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." You need to say a prayer, confessing the fact you're a sinner, and asking for forgiveness. Then you must repent (feel remorse) for your sins, and ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior. This is the first, and most important act of love, but it doesn't stop there. Now we're entering into our Faith walk, which is our growth process, because we start off as babes in Christ. God showers His love on us, and we must be humble enough to be open to His will for our lives. We must seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and then He'll start revealing His wisdom to us, through His grace. Eventually, our hearts will be filled with so much love, that we start to share it with others, and people will start to see it in us. It's just like the Mary, Mary song, when people start to notice that huge change in you, just tell them "It's the God in Me". Just because you're a professed Christian, doesn't mean that you've experienced the love that God is going through great extents to show you. Open up to Him right now, He's waiting to love you, and He'll surround you with people that will do the same, but you have to rely on Him to send them to you, and not choose them for yourself. Ask yourself a few deep questions: Do you love God? Do you know that God loves you unconditionally? Do you love the people around you unselfishly? and How do you show your love? God is unlike any human being, He'll take you just as you are, and He’s waiting on you. My favorite verse today is: Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (1 John 4:11)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2454964&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=5131179&ct=6959641

I love you!