Daily Hope with Rick Warren - Saturday, 11
January 2014 – “Fill Your Life with Love”
“Don’t just pretend to love others.
Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each
other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans
12:9-10 (NLT))
If you want lasting change in your life,
you must fill your life with love.
Love is the only thing that can change
the unchangeable. Love invigorates. Love revitalizes. Love renews. Love
refreshes. Love is the most powerful force in the universe, because God is
love. It doesn’t say he has love; it says he is love. Love heals what cannot
otherwise be healed. Love uplifts. Love strengthens. Love energizes. Love
empowers.
“Don’t just pretend to love others.
Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each
other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans
12:9-10 (NLT)).
“Take delight in honoring each other” — I
love that! You know what that means? It means when people in your small group
have a win in health, finances, or any goal they’ve set, you need to celebrate
with them. Celebrate their wins. You lost two more pounds? Congratulations! You
got a little bit out of debt? Fantastic! You had a breakthrough in your
marriage? Terrific! The Bible says to take delight in honoring each other and
show genuine affection.
Here’s the amazing thing: God has wired
the universe so that when you help other people, God takes care of your
problems. God is looking down on you not to say, “Are you helping yourself?”
but “Are you helping others?” Do you want help with your goals? Start helping
other people with their goals. Show love. Give yourself away. There is healing
in giving back.
Remember the story of Job where he lost
everything? He lost his health, he lost his family, he lost his wealth. He lost
it all. At the end of the book, God gave it all back to Job. Why? Because Job
prayed for himself? No. It says, “After Job had prayed for his friends, the
LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (NIV).
Why do you need to be in a small group?
Not just so other people can help you, but so you can help them. So you can
pray for those people, and then God can help you. Give yourself away in love,
and then watch God work in your life.
Talk It Over:
·
Think of the ways you show love to others
each day. What is the motivation behind your love?
·
How has loving others blessed your life?
·
Who are the people in your life who need
your love and support or need you to celebrate with them today?
-------
Saddleback Community Church
1 Saddleback Pkwy
Lake Forest, CA 92630 United States
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment