Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying your day. I'm doing well, already looking forward to the weekend. The summer is slowly coming to a close, and I feel like I've allowed it to pass me by. I haven't had one barbecue, and that's not like me. Overall, I've been enjoying the mild weather, especially the cool summer nights. It's starting to warm up a bit, which makes me want to jump into the pool. I can't wait to go on my vacation; I'm also going to save some vacation time, so I could have time off around the holidays, so I'm looking forward to that. Maybe go to an Island during the cold months, I've never done that. Hopefully business picks up around the holidays, please continue to pray for that. We're also still waiting to hear news about my dad's hearing, please continue to pray for him, and pray that he's home soon. Thanks for your continued prayers, have a wonderful day!

Today's scriptures are about walking in Love. Love is our number one commandment, now that Jesus has taken on the burden of sin. God wants us to first Love Him with all of our hearts and souls, and Love our neighbors. What does that mean? Love is an action; it's not just a feeling or something you say to make people feel better. We’re required to show God’s love to people. In the King James Version (KJV) of the bible, the word love is substituted with the word Charity. Charity has a few meanings in the dictionary, mostly geared toward giving to the poor. In my opinion, the best description for what we're talking about today is: Benevolence or generosity toward others or toward humanity. However, there's a separate “Christian” meaning written in the dictionary: love directed first toward God but also toward oneself and one's neighbors as objects of God's love. Even if we do look at it in the worldly definition, giving to the poor isn't that far off. Poor just means that you’re lacking something, and love is the giving of oneself to others, in efforts to show them a part of God. After all, God is love. Do you really know what that means? 1 John 4 talks all about love, the subtitles in the NKJV are: Knowing God Through Love, Seeing God Through Love, The Consummation of Love, and Obedience by Faith. Knowing God through love, verses 7-11, says: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. As I've gotten older, I've realized that majority of my life I didn't really love anyone, not even myself. I was very lost, and it wasn't until I found God, and I mean truly found God, have I started to understand and know Love. I believe that you cannot truly love anyone else until you've experienced the Love of God. In my opinion, love isn't selfish, and love allows you to see past someone's faults and mistakes. Love allows you to forgive people for their shortcomings, and try to see the good in everything. Love gives you patience and helps you probe into the whys behind people's attitudes and evil ways. Love allows you to give of yourself unconditionally, and leaving the consequences to God. I can honestly say that I'm experiencing the love of God, and now better have the ability to share His love. When I feel the sunshine on my face when I wake up in the morning, it feels like God has kissed me on the forehead and said, "I love you my daughter". In my neighborhood there are Blue Jays, Red Robins, and Orioles, that sit in a tree right outside of my house, when I see them, I automatically thank God for such beauty, and I tell Him I love Him. Love is something internal that works its way from the inside out, and I can honestly say I’m filled with it. Think about life, and how many trials we face, and how it could fester inside of us and create bitterness, resentment, hatred, and un-forgiveness. Those things cause our hearts to harden, and could eventually shut down that love that God has instilled in us. When we're saved, Jesus (who is in the likeness of God) lives in our hearts, and He starts creating in us a right Spirit when we ask. Just at the Psalmist says in Psalms 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. We must stay in tuned with our Spirit. Whenever we get this spirit of unrest, or start feeling like everything irritates us, and are just sad and down about life, then we need to say that prayer. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:1: I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. Everyday is a new day given by God. Yesterday is gone, and it's important for us not to dwell on it. How often do you wake up and ask yourself, "How could I show God's Love today?" I don't, but as of today I will. Life is one big lesson, and all God asks of us is to Love Him, and Love each other. It seems simple enough, so why don't we do it? We're still in the flesh, and we battle temptation and evil all day, so sometimes it's hard to focus on the love. We often hurt the ones we're closest to, in opposed to loving them. Or, we love only the ones we're closest to us and no one else. When He asks us to love Him, He wants us to show it by praise, worship, fellowship, and giving our love to others. Today I challenge you to practice to Love. Examine yourself to find out if when you say, you love. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior then you haven't truly experienced love. If you don't believe me, I urge you to try Him out. The world is such a beautiful place; if you can't see past the evil and corruption then that is what lives in your heart. It's time to ask Jesus to first come into your heart as Lord and Savior (if you never have), and then accept God's Love. He automatically gives it to all of us, but it's up to us to accept and share it. Try Him out, and experience true love. My favorite verse today is: My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455041&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=5283727&ct=7162673

I love you!