For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening…nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38-39
To fully understand all the different facets of love, we must talk about the two kinds of love: the God-kind of love and man's love. Man's love fails, gives up; but God's love does not. Man's love is finite, comes to an end; but God's love is infinite and eternal. Man's love is dependent on favorable behavior and circumstances; God's love is not. People place conditions on their love, but God's love is unconditional.
According to God's Word, He loved us before the world was formed, before we loved Him or believed in Him, or had ever done anything either good or evil. God does not require us to earn His love, and we must not require others to earn ours. As believers in Jesus Christ, the love we are to manifest to the world is the unconditional love of God flowing through us to them.
Loving people unconditionally is a very big challenge. I would be tempted to say it's impossible, but since God tells us to do it, surely He must have a way for us to do it. Sometimes we pray to be able to love the unlovely and then do our best to avoid every unlovely person God sends our way. Learning to walk in love with unlovely people and learning to be patient in trials are probably the two most important tools God uses to develop our spiritual maturity. Believe it or not, difficult people in our lives help us. They sharpen and refine us for God's use.
Love Others Today: "Lord, help me to love others today without imposing 'ifs' or conditions. Let me remember that as I do it, I'm being refined by You."
No “Ifs”
by Joyce Meyer - posted May 07, 2017For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening…nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38-39
To fully understand all the different facets of love, we must talk about the two kinds of love: the God-kind of love and man's love. Man's love fails, gives up; but God's love does not. Man's love is finite, comes to an end; but God's love is infinite and eternal. Man's love is dependent on favorable behavior and circumstances; God's love is not. People place conditions on their love, but God's love is unconditional.
According to God's Word, He loved us before the world was formed, before we loved Him or believed in Him, or had ever done anything either good or evil. God does not require us to earn His love, and we must not require others to earn ours. As believers in Jesus Christ, the love we are to manifest to the world is the unconditional love of God flowing through us to them.
Loving people unconditionally is a very big challenge. I would be tempted to say it's impossible, but since God tells us to do it, surely He must have a way for us to do it. Sometimes we pray to be able to love the unlovely and then do our best to avoid every unlovely person God sends our way. Learning to walk in love with unlovely people and learning to be patient in trials are probably the two most important tools God uses to develop our spiritual maturity. Believe it or not, difficult people in our lives help us. They sharpen and refine us for God's use.
Love Others Today: "Lord, help me to love others today without imposing 'ifs' or conditions. Let me remember that as I do it, I'm being refined by You."
How to Sleep at Night
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”
Daniel 6:18–20
When Daniel’s enemies tricked the king into signing a law forbidding prayer to anyone except him, they thought they had finally come up with a way to destroy the faithful servant of God. They knew that he would never stop praying, and when the law was signed, Daniel prayed as he had always done. The king did not want to see Daniel executed, but even he could not change the law. So Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. The Bible doesn’t tell us how Daniel spent the night, but it does tell us that the king couldn’t sleep! Very early the next morning, he rushed out to find that God had delivered Daniel from the lions.
The reason the king was sleepless with worry while Daniel had peace, is that Daniel understood the sovereignty of God. He had prayed, and so he did not worry. It is impossible for prayer and worry to coexist. Dr. John R. Rice wrote, “Worry is a blighting sin. It is the very opposite of trust. Yet how many Christians are guilty of this sin! They lose their joy, they dwell in uncertainty, their lives are harried by burdens they ought never to carry and by fears they ought never to entertain. And the secret of ending worry and anxious care is to take things to God every day and pray through with prayer and thanksgiving and supplication.”
Daniel 6:18–20
When Daniel’s enemies tricked the king into signing a law forbidding prayer to anyone except him, they thought they had finally come up with a way to destroy the faithful servant of God. They knew that he would never stop praying, and when the law was signed, Daniel prayed as he had always done. The king did not want to see Daniel executed, but even he could not change the law. So Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. The Bible doesn’t tell us how Daniel spent the night, but it does tell us that the king couldn’t sleep! Very early the next morning, he rushed out to find that God had delivered Daniel from the lions.
The reason the king was sleepless with worry while Daniel had peace, is that Daniel understood the sovereignty of God. He had prayed, and so he did not worry. It is impossible for prayer and worry to coexist. Dr. John R. Rice wrote, “Worry is a blighting sin. It is the very opposite of trust. Yet how many Christians are guilty of this sin! They lose their joy, they dwell in uncertainty, their lives are harried by burdens they ought never to carry and by fears they ought never to entertain. And the secret of ending worry and anxious care is to take things to God every day and pray through with prayer and thanksgiving and supplication.”
Today’s Growth Principle:
If we do not seek God’s help in prayer, our lives will be filled with worry and care.
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