Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 12, 2014
Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Psalm 31:23
God commands His saints to love Him. He loves you so you can love Him. Love and the Lord go hand in hand, for you are locked into a love relationship with your Savior. The question is not if you love the Lord, but how you love the Lord. Yes, your love for Christ pales in comparison to His love for you. But you love because the Lord is worthy of your love. He longs for your love, and He invites and desires it. Indeed, God is honored and worshiped when His saints love Him. Your love holds Him in eternal esteem. What joy, for you can love the Lover of your soul. Unredeemed sinners cannot love the Lord because they are incapable of loving Him. This is a perk that only disciples of Christ can enjoy. Unless you have been converted by the free grace of God, you cannot love Him. Love for the Lord is not unlocked until you turn the key of faith. It affords you the opportunity to love the Lord. You will remain unfulfilled, lost, and confused until you are able to love Him.
Your relationship with the Lord is tolerable at best without an engaging and loving relationship, but loving your Creator completes you, His creation. Loving the Lord moves you out of the basement of loneliness to the balcony of basking in His presence. Love lifts you to the Lord, and He is drawn to your love. He loves to be loved by His children. Love of the Lord starts you out in faith and sustains your faith. Loving the Lord fuels your faith, energizes your soul, and galvanizes your beliefs. It inflames hope and feeds forgiveness. Loving the Lord is a catalyst for becoming more like Him. You take on the traits of whom and what you love. You reflect the object of your affection. Therefore, love Him because you want to be like Him. Love is a magnet that draws you toward your model for living. Transformation into the character of Christ is the goal for those who love Him.
Indeed, your love for Him transforms your behavior. So, love the Lord with your whole being. Love Him with your body, soul, and spirit. Love Him physically by taking care of the body He created. Keep it pure and healthy. Love Him emotionally by processing and expressing your feelings. Allow Him to convert your anger into holy passion. Allow your love for Him to explode in emotions of thanksgiving, praise, and celebration. Love Him with your spirit. Connect with Christ in prayer and meditation on His Word. He reveals His will to seeking souls; so love Him in the morning, in the noontime, and love Him when the sun goes down. Since loving Him is right, you don’t want to be wrong.
Taken from the April 12th reading in Boyd’s 365-day devotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God vol. 1” … http://bit.ly/Tv6y9a
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