Biblical Love: Part 4 — A ‘Time With God’ Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. Let’s start our day right the best way possible by spending some time with God. Time with God just means you’re hanging out with God by opening up your Bible and saying, God, talk to me. I know this is your Word, I know you have given it to us because you want to show us what you are like, and more than that, you want to take the things that are written in there for all time, and use them in my life specifically for my time for my day to day and give me some spiritual truth that will change my life. I want to build my life around you, God.

And when you do that and you start to read, God speaks to you through the Bible, and then you stop and you say, Oh, God, here’s what I’m thinking. I see what you’re saying to me, and you respond to God and talk to Him about what He’s saying to you.

You express your feelings to Him, not just beautiful, good feelings, but whatever you’re feeling, if you’re mad at someone, if you’re mad at God, just talk to God about it, and then interact with Him and let Him impact on your way of thinking and seeing life, responding to God. That kind of interaction shapes your life and changes you. So let’s read a passage today. Remember we’re talking about biblical love this week. I want to read you a couple of verses out of Hebrews chapter 13 in the Bible.

Where the writer says:

Through Jesus then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

Acknowledge to God constantly what He is doing in your life. Don’t take credit for the things happening in your life. Acknowledge God. Thank Him. Praise Him for His goodness to you.

He goes on, and do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

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So not only express your thankfulness to God, but God also wants to see you expressing love to the people around you in life.

You know, the basis for that again is what God has already done for you, that you have received God’s love, that you’ve acknowledged it, you’ve said thank you God for your love for me, and that’s a big hurdle for some people who feel guilt, who feel like God must not like me, to stop and say Jesus died for me when I was still a sinner.

He loves me no matter what’s going on in my life, and God, I accept your love for me. When your love needs are filled up by Jesus Christ, then you’re free not to be so worried about getting acceptance from the people around you.

If it bugs you when Christians try to act like everything’s peachy, great, and all of that when you know they’re living a real life just like the rest of us. You don’t like that, do you? What you want is real people who aren’t just trying to always do what is going to make you think positively about them. What you want is people who are not focused on themselves but people who love you.

Well, you want that in your life, and you want to be that kind of person to other people, and the way you can be a giver of love is when love is overflowing in your life because you have received and accepted God’s love for you.

Let God meet your love needs. Build your relationship with God, and then love will overflow from your life, and your life will be so attractive and beautiful to people around you, and what your life will do is point them to God.

Because God is the source of love and life.

God, have you built your life around him? It’s the only way to become a true lover of others and not of yourself.

I’m John North.

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