We love each other because He loved us first... 1 John 4:19 When you think of the word “LOVE”, what does it make you think of? Since Valentine’s Day was just last month, you may think of roses, chocolates, stuffed animals and all the cheesy cards that could express “LOVE” to your significant other. While all those can be sweet, the true meaning of love and the ultimate gift to us was the sacrificial love that Christ displayed during His lifetime on earth, dying on the cross for the atonement of our sins so that we may have a relationship with Him and be raised to life. During this Easter seas ..read more

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him... Romans 15:13 Has anxiety seemed to have overtaken your life? So many times in our lives, we forget that when we feel anxious, God calls us to be joyful and peaceful because the battle is already won. When we give our lives to Him daily and agree to trust in Him, He restores the joy and peace that the world takes from us. In this verse, Paul prays for this to be true for us, so I hope and pray that today, amidst all the chaos and anxieties of the world, that we would choose to be joyful ..read more

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other… Romans 12:10 Loving one another is not as simple as it sounds. It’s easy to tell someone you love them, but how often do we really put others’ needs above our own? That is true affection. Jesus gave us the perfect example of love and selflessness on the cross. Paul reminds us in this passage that we should not only continuously honor one another by putting others above ourselves, but that we should also find joy in doing so ..read more

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good... Romans 12:9 Loving others like God asks us to is not easy, especially with how complicated our lives can be. Satan will do everything in his power to grow hatred in your life until it overtakes you. However, we are forgiven of all that hatred and shown what the meaning of true love is. As Christians, we should love others because of how God has loved us. Once we understand the concept of this love, we must hold true to it ..read more

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love... 1 John 4:8 Those who truly love God will act on it. If you don’t demonstrate God’s love, you have no fellowship with God. Love is something God showed us first by sending Jesus.  ..read more

This is My command: Love each other… John 15:17 In the previous passages, Jesus is explaining that when you abide in Him and follow His commandments, you show evidence of being His disciple and experience joy in its fullness. Verse 17, He repeats Himself and commands us to love one another. When we love others, even the ones that in our opinion are unlovable or have hurt us, we are extending the love that Jesus has shown us and bring glory to Him. Jesus chose us and loved us even when we were the most unlovable. This is the gospel shown through us— that we lay our lives down and love those ar ..read more

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love... 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 I think this passage is a reminder from Paul of how believers should respond to the different experiences we have in life. When we are tempted to run, stand firm. When we are afraid, be courageous. When we feel weak, be strong. When we are angry, we love. We must be ready, on guard, for these moments and show integrity in our actions. Remembering we are representing our Living God, our Hope, in a broken world. Our lives should reflect that.  ..read more

So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free… James 2:12 I love how in this verse James reminds us that whatever we say or do is important! Sometimes we like to compartmentalize our lives and think God only cares about some of the things that we say and do. However, James tells us that God cares about all of it! Jesus paid it all for us, and He deserves our everything each and every day ..read more

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith... Romans 1:17 One of the most important things for us to understand as Christ followers is that the Gospel does not say that we have to be perfect. Instead, it says that through our faith in Christ, we have been made righteous in God’s sight. Not by anything that we have done, but we have put our faith and trust in the only One that has ever been or will ever be righteous. Remember this week to keep your focus on Him ..read more

For we live by believing and not by seeing… 2 Corinthians 5:7 As believers, we are often faced with the choice between choosing to do what we want to do and what God wants us to do. When we live by faith, that means choosing to do what God wants us to do even when we don’t quite see the benefit of it at the moment. It means that we choose to walk by faith even when it is the hardest. This week, choose to live inside out even when it is the hardest!  ..read more