Remain

Remain

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you

John 15:7, NIV.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

In life, we all have ups and downs. There are seasons that are more difficult than others, seasons of testing, trials and temptation where our character is being developed and our faith in God is being strengthened. Sometimes it can feel like you are taking two steps forward and then three steps backward. But if we’re not careful, we’ll start thinking that life is always going to be this way. Even in the strong seasons, you’ll start looking for things to go wrong.

God doesn’t want us to be living life like a roller coaster. He wants to bring us to a place of stability where we remain strong in Him. Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me, you will bear much fruit and your fruit will remain.” The word “remain” means “to be fixed, immovable, not affected by circumstances.” If you will just keep abiding in Him, just keep meditating on His Word, He’ll bring you through. He’ll make you strong, He’ll keep you stable, and you’ll keep moving forward into the life of blessing He has prepared for you!

PRAYER FORTODAY

Father, today I set my heart and mind on You knowing that You are good and faithful. I trust that as I seek You and put You first, You will direct my steps. I choose to remain in You and follow Your leading in everything I do in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Love Must Become Your Lifestyle 5 hours ago  Rick Warren “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” (Luke 6:32 NIV) If you only love on and off like a light switch, you do not love others like God wants you to love. Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (Luke 6:32 NIV) His point is this: Anybody can love those who love them. Becoming a master lover means you learn to love the unlovable. It’s when you love people who don’t love you, when you love people who irritate you, when you love people who stab you in the back or gossip about you. This may seem like an impossible task, and it is. That’s why we need God’s love in us, so we can then love others: “We know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16 NIV). When you realize how much God loves you — with an extravagant, irresistible, unconditional love — then his love will change your entire focus on life. If we don’t receive God’s love for us, we’ll have a hard time loving other people. I’m talking about loving the unlovely, loving the difficult, loving the irritable, loving people who are different or demanding. You can’t do that until you have God’s love coming through you. You need to know God’s love so it can overflow out of your life into others. Love must become your lifestyle, the habit of your life. But it starts with a decision. Are you ready? Your life is worth far more than you think, and by learning to love others with the love God gives you, you will have an influence far greater than you could ever imagine. If you will commit to this, you will experience love as God means it to be — filled with hope, energy, and joy. My prayer for you is “that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love …” (Philippians 1:9 NCV) Talk About It What does love that is infused with hope look like? What does it mean to have “knowledge and understanding with your love”?