Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
Weekend Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Love Sex and Marriage - The Love You're Looking For
This eDevotional was written by a volunteer from Timberlake Church.
Read: Philippians 1:7-8; Romans 5:5
Think: Have you noticed that the people that annoy you or just plain bother you are people usually that you don’t have a lot of love for? (at least in that moment...) The Bible talks about how love covers a multitude of sins… but when that wanes, everything becomes bothersome.
It's true that if people are not on my heart, they're on my nerves. If you don't have your kids in your heart, they get on your nerves. If you don't have your husband in your heart, he gets on your nerves. The reason so many families and marriages are falling apart is that we are reacting to each other from our head rather than our heart.
A great way to renew that ‘heart love’ is by taking time to understand why someone feels the way they do. Ask questions and then listen. Hear the hurt, look for the problems, know what makes your mate (or the person you care about) tick. We have to understand the moods of the people closest to you, and why they act the way they do. If we truly care, the annoyances begin to disappear and the patience and ability to be grace-filled abounds.
How do you love people who, even when you do understand them, you find unlovable? "God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:8 NIV) The Apostle Paul wasn’t talking about a natural kind of love but a supernatural kind of love. And that's why Paul said it's not from himself, but it's the affection of Christ Jesus. Pastor Rick Warren says this: Human love wears out and dries up and dies on the vine. The only kind of love that lasts in spite of heartache and difficulty in tough circumstances is God's love -- the affection of Jesus Christ.
So how do you get this kind of love? "God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us." (Romans 5:5 NIV) God's love is not something you work up or just try harder at. It is something that is poured into you by the Holy Spirit as you let Him live in you day in and day out.
Do: Have you tapped into the power of the Holy Spirit? It’s not a spooky or weird thing, but it is the key to living the life God desires and loving how He does. After coming to Christ, the Holy Spirit resides in us, helping us, teaching us, empowering us. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help today to love the people around you, especially those who have been hard to love lately.
Pray: Holy Spirit, fill me today and help me to love as the Father loves. Give me a heart for the people you have put around me – especially my spouse. Help me to understand how they feel, what they are dealing with, and above all, to love them with YOUR supernatural love.