I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
What does love really look like?
It’s easy to feel bombarded with information about what it means to love and to be loved. But the template for true love isn’t found in cultural trends, it was given to us by the God who represents the concept itself.
His love is different from any other kind of love. In fact, the Bible says that God is love.
God sent His only Son to die for the sins of every person. There was only one reason for God to experience that kind of heartache: His love for us.
God didn’t need us, but He wanted us. His love is unconditional, sacrificial, everlasting, and for everyone. When we accept God’s love for us, we can then love Him in return and let Him change the way we see ourselves. And when we learn to see ourselves through the lens of God’s love, we start to love others like God loves us.
Jesus modeled what God’s love looked like when He gave up His life for us. We didn’t deserve or earn it—but that didn’t stop Him from going to the cross on our behalf.
We become His friends when we accept His sacrifice and receive His forgiveness. But Jesus says we will truly know that we are His friends if we do what He asks of us (John 15:14). And this is what Jesus asks of us…
“Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12-13 NLT
If we love Jesus, then we are His friends. But if we are His friends, then we will care about what He cares about. And He cared so much about us that He gave up His rights, authority, and life so that anyone could experience God’s eternal love. Jesus will call us His friends if we are willing to do the same thing.
So what would laying down your life for a friend look like? Maybe this means giving up your plans for a day in order to serve someone. It could look like preserving a relationship by intentionally giving up an argument. Or maybe it means sacrificing your time, energy, or self-image in order to come alongside someone who is hurting.
God’s love in action is selfless because it causes us to think about ourselves less. So today, ask God to show you how you can love others like He has sacrificially loved you.
God Never Changes
Between the year 640 to 608 BC, the prophet Zephaniah spoke to the people of Israel. He warned them of God’s judgment, but he also reminded them of God’s promise for their future.
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
We aren’t the people of Israel in 640 BC hearing this, but, as students of God’s Word, we can also find comfort in Zephaniah’s words.
We know that God came into our midst through Jesus and that He gave us His Spirit when we believed (John 1:14; Galatians 4:6). We also know that we are deeply loved by God (1 John 4:16). Paul teaches that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus when we pray to Him (Philippians 4:6-7).
So although we are not Zephaniah’s original audience, we can find comfort in knowing that God is the same throughout all generations. He is still in our...
