VISION TO BE LOVED

DAY 4 // VISION TO BE LOVED

RAY HARMON – EAGLE CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH IN INDIANAPOLIS, IN

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

John 15:9-14 (NIV)

Sometimes I get silly old songs stuck in my head. Do you? For instance, when considering today’s topic, the Beatles’ song, “Love is All You Need,” came to mind. And the more I listen to such lyrics the sillier they seem… However, might there be some truth to this simple chorus?

As we read the passage of the above passage, there is much to consider. There can be NO greater love than that which is between our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Love is part of God’s perfect character (1 John 4:8). Jesus loves us with that same love. Since we can’t know as God knows because we are not God, Jesus gave us a very tangible way for us to understand His love for us; He gave up His life for us. When we can take hold of God’s love for us, it is then that we can experience true and complete joy that surpasses understanding.

According to this passage, the way to take hold of God’s love, to experience His joy, is by obeying His commands. Specifically, the command given here is to love our brothers and sisters in the family of God. There are many other commands like this given in the Bible. The point is, sometimes our physical nature (flesh) gets in the way. Sometimes, we fail to live in obedience to God’s commands. Instead, we live for ourselves. We get slack in our quiet times. We start praying less and less. We begin looking for affirmation from work, hobbies, or other people.We will do anything that will make us “feel good”. Ah, but there is the deception! When our flesh gets in the way, we may “feel good” for a short time, but we have lost our joy.

As we shall be reminded at the Fusion Conference, clear vision comes as we draw near to our Heavenly Father in the Word and in prayer. It is there that we are reminded of the greatness of His love. It is there we begin to develop a vision to live for Him and not for ourselves. Instead of thinking of the Beatles’ song, let’s consider this one by Stuart Townsend, 

“How deep the Father’s love for us, 

How vast beyond all measure, 

That He should give His only Son 

To make a wretch His treasure.”

Can you see clearly now?

VISION TO LOVE GOD

DAY 1 // VISION TO LOVE GOD

RORY WHITNEY – CANDLEWOOD CHURCH IN OMAHA, NE

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’”

– Matthew 22:7 (NLT)

As I sit at my desk and think about this devotional, “To Love God,” I think to myself, “WOW, what is it that I could say that would encourage anyone to grow in this area of their lives.” I thought about disciplines or practices that have helped me in staying focused on this area of my life over the last thirty-five years, so here goes. I believe to love God will require us to embrace all three of these areas every day of our lives.

HEART

When I think of my heart, I think about my emotions; that which separates me from the animal world. A simple practice that I have done with my wife and with my God is to say, “Good Morning, Good Night, and I Love You”. The Bible says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. I pray daily that I would love God more today than I did yesterday. My desire is to grow in this area of my life; to feel joy, grief, contentment, excitement, courage, peace, laughter, etc.

God wants us as His; to embrace our humanity and to experience all of this as we walk day by day with the Creator of the universe that loves us completely.

SOUL

When I think of your soul, I think of who you are. You are the only one ever created, there will never be a duplicate. God has entrusted us with gifts, talents, and passions. These attributes are unique to you and only you. How is someone to love God with all their soul? Eric Liddell was a missionary that could run like the wind. Before he went to China, he ran in the Olympics. As he was training, his sister became concerned that running was interfering with his work for God. Eric responded to her with a quote that I will never forget. He said this, “But Sister, when I run I feel the very pleasure of God.”

Here’s the answer to loving God with all your soul: discover your talents, gifts, & passions. Commit them to the Lord. Roll up your sleeves in your local church and give back to God all that you have been given and you, too, will feel “the very pleasure of God.”

MIND

What you think about is who you are and will continue to be. My experience in this area of my life is very simple. I will give you an example. In today’s political climate it is very easy to slowly and steadily gather bits of information that will eventually position you in a high tower and divide you from others. What would God want us to do? He would want us to trust Him, pray for our leaders, avoid private and public attacks, and act as aliens, sojourners, and pilgrims in the land; trusting and living for the next world.

Our mind is incredible. The battle lies in our thinking. What are you doing to transform the way you think? Transformation comes from replacing lies with the truth. Is God’s Word the source of your truth? Or is it Facebook, social media, CNN, MSNBC, Fox? The list goes on and on. It all affects the way you think.

To love God with all of your heart, soul and mind is something you need to practice
today, tomorrow, and everyday for the rest of your life.