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DEVOTIONS
FOR February 15-20, 2010
Topic:
“LOVE”
Don’t forget to start your devotion time with a prayer!
Ask God to speak to you through His word and that His Spirit would give you
understanding as you APPLY His truth to your life.
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Spend time with the devotions this week. Read the Scriptures and then
think how you can apply them to your life.
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MONDAY
February 15
Look
up and read
Psalm 103:8
and
Psalm 36:5
God’s Nature is Love
Psalm 103
says that “the LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and
abounding in _________.” (vs. 8) Wow! What an encouraging picture of the
God of the universe! David describes God as someone who cares and who is
understanding and loving. What does it mean that God is “abounding in
love?” The phrasing suggests that God has a HUGE AMOUNT of love in His
heart. Psalm 36:5 illustrates just how big that love is –it stretches to
the _________! How does that make you feel to know that God, the Creator of
the world and our Heavenly Father is “abounding” and FULL of love for us?
What are some ways that you have experienced the love of God in your own
life? Take a few minutes to thank God for choosing to create love and for
sharing it with us every day.
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TUESDAY
February 16
Look
up and read
John 3:16
and
John 15:13
No Greater Love
Take a real
close look at John 3:16. We use this verse for encouragement and
understanding that Christ died for us. But have you ever paid attention to
the reason WHY God sent His son? It says: “For God so _______ the world…”
It was because of LOVE that God chose to sacrifice His only Son for our
sins. John 15:13 tells us that Jesus felt the same way. “Greater ________
has no one than this, than to lay down His life for His friends.” This is
the ultimate demonstration of love. There is no selfishness, no greed, no
anger, no bitterness- just a loving Father and Son who are willing to do
WHATEVER it takes to prove that their love is sincere. Jesus made the
greatest sacrifice, giving His life for us so that He could offer us new
life in Him. Think of some ways that you have seen love expressed to people
around you. Is our love completely self-less like God’s love? How can we
respond to His love in a way that shows how grateful we are that He loves us
so much?
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WEDNESDAY
February 17
Look
up and read
Romans
8:38-39
No Separation
Wow!
That’s what comes to mind after reading this verse! What does it say can
separate us from God’s love? __________ (answer: NOTHING!) Think of it in
terms of your life today. Another way to read this verse could be: “For I
am convinced that neither getting a bad grade in school or feeling stressed
out from a busy schedule, neither having an argument with a family member
nor doing something to really upset God, nor anything else than you can
possibly think of could ever separate you from the love God has for you in
His Son Jesus!” God’s love is UNCONDITIONAL. What does that mean? What are
some things in your life that are based on conditions? You have to perform
well to earn a spot on a sports team. You have to pass each class to move
on to the next grade. These things are based on conditions. But God’s love
is NOT like that. There is NOTHING we do to earn God’s love. It’s a gift.
And there is NOTHING that we or anyone else can do to make Him love us any
less! We can be TOTALLY secure in God! How does this make you feel!? What
are you going to do in response to this love God has for you today?
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THURSDAY
February 18
Look
up and read
1
John 4:9-11
We are Loved, So
Love in Return
How did God show His
love for us? By sending ___ ______ into the world so that we might
______through Him. Verse 10 says “This is love: not that we loved God, but
that _____ _________ us….” Who created the concept of love? Love started
not with us, but with God. He loved us from the beginning of time. Verse
11 goes on to say that “because God loved us, we also ought to ______ one
another. God lives IN us and His love is made complete in us.” How does
this verse suggest that we should respond to God’s love? How do we know
that we will be able to love others? Where does it say God lives? His love
is made complete IN US! Have you felt God’s love in your life lately? Have
you chosen to love others around you? What are some things you can do today
to make sure that you intentionally show love to your family? How can you
love the people at your school and in your community? Spend some time
thinking about how you can live your life in a way that says thank you to
God for the love He has given us. |
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FRIDAY
February 19
Look
up and read
1 John 3:18
Love in Action
In this verse, John is
taking about helping our neighbors who are in need. In verse 17, he
challenges us to think about how generous we are with what God has given
us. “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but
has no pity on him, how then can the love of God be in him?” (vs. 17) John
says that when we ignore the needs of the people around us, we are not
letting the love of God live in us. He says in verse 18 “Let us not love
with _______ or tongue, but with _________ and in truth.” It is easy for us
to say “I love you.” It is easy to say that we care for the homeless and we
hope that the starving children in the world can be fed. But if we only say
those things and never take action, our words are meaningless. What are
some needs you see in the world today? What can you do about it? How can
you put love into action by helping those in need? Spend some time in
prayer asking God to open your heart to ways that you can serve Him with
your actions. Open your eyes to the needs of others and look for ways that
you can make a difference.
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SATURDAY
February 20
Look
up and read
1
Corinthians 13:4-8
What Does Love Look
Like? Have
you ever wanted to know what true love looks like? Paul gives us a clear
description here of love as God intended it to be. What does it look like
for a person to be patient and kind? Can you think of someone in your life
who fits this description? Love thinks of OTHERS first. It does not keep
record of wrongs. When someone does something that hurts your feelings, do
you hold a grudge, or do you choose to forgive and let it go? This kind of
love is hard. Try reading the verse as if it were about you. “I am
patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud…(keep
going)” Is it completely true? Which areas are a struggle for you? Spend
some time going over each characteristic of love. Pay special attention to
the ones that are sometimes hard for you to live. Ask God to help you in
those areas so that you can love with true love like Him. Be encouraged
that God’s love is true love. So we can know that His love never fails! |
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See you at Sunday
School, Worship and Youth Fellowship this Sunday!
Bible references provided by
www.biblegateway.com
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