Tuesday February 22, 2011
Theme: Loving Like Jesus Loves Me
Weekend Music links on iTunes: God Is With Us - Michael Olson, Today Is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, None But Jesus - Hillsong, Attention - Know Hope Collective
Read: Ephesians 3:18, John 17:18
Think: Hearing Ben’s message on the magnitude of God’s love for us and the depth and forgiveness we have in Christ reminded me of the story behind the song How He Loves. At “The Call,” a huge prayer gathering that has filled stadiums across the nation, John Mark McMillan shared the story of How He Loves. The writer’s best friend, Stephen who was a youth worker was at a prayer meeting one morning and prayed, “Lord, if it would shake the youth of the nation, I’d give my life today.” Stephen died that night in a car accident. John McMillan wrote the song the next day. A few years later, John was distressed that nothing good had yet happened. He and his friends had thought a movement would arise from Stephen’s death. Not long after, Lou Engle (co-founder of The Call) heard the song and said “let’s sing this in the stadium.” Although this song, written by a broken hearted best friend was never intended to be a worship song, the result was that people all over the nation have been delivered and saved upon hearing it. How can such a song become so powerful? Here are the original words for the first two verses and chorus:
He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy when all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me.
Oh, how He loves us so, Oh, how He loves us, How He loves us all. Yeah, He loves us, Whoa, how He loves us, Whoa, how He loves us, Whoa, how He loves.
We are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us.
We may not have an opportunity or ability to sing or play this song for those around us who don’t yet know Jesus, but what can we do? He has given each and every one of us the tools we need to seek and save the lost, but sometimes we are fearful – of appearing strange or nosy, or we are influenced by others around us to keep these tools well-hidden. D.L. Moody once said to a person who was criticizing his evangelical methods “I like the way I do it better than the way you don’t do it.”
Do: Dig deep to the well of love that Jesus has filled within you. Spend some serious time with Him today delighting in Him and splashing in the living water of His love. Look for opportunities to “get into other people’s business” and share the love of Jesus.
Pray: I love you, Lord, and praise you for loving me and taking me just as I am. Since you live in me, I ask you to bring your love to the surface where it pours out of me. I cannot do this in my strength, but I believe in You.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.