Love God with all Your Strength
Devotion: Term 4, Week 6
What does it mean to love God with all your strength? A pastor defines it: ‘It means expending tremendous amounts of energy for Kingdom causes. It means blood, sweat, and tears. It means servanthood and sacrifice. It means good old-fashioned hard work. Energy may be the least appreciated dimension of love because it’s the least sentimental. And how we invest our energy reveals our true priorities.’ It reveals how much we love someone; in this case, God. The pastor continues: ‘Christianity was never intended to be a noun. And when we turn it into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. We’ve got to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to seize opportunities to serve … At the end of the day, God isn’t going to say, ‘Well said, good and faithful servant’… but, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’
‘Nothing is more fulfilling than burning calories for a kingdom cause. Anything less than leveraging all our strength for God’s purposes is boring at best and hypocritical at worst. So many Christians are so bored … so frustrated by the gap between their theology and reality. The way to close the gap and experience that holy rush of adrenaline again is to break a sweat serving others. It can be as simple as babysitting for a single mum who needs a night out, serving in a ministry in your local church, or volunteering at a local nursing home. It doesn’t matter how big or how small; every calorie burned for a Kingdom cause earns compound interest for eternity. And it’ll fill the emptiness in your soul with pure joy.’
SoulFood: Deut 18:9-14 Dan 2 Isa 47:5-15 Acts 16:16-34
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
Other Devotions
Devotion – Love God with all Your Strength
What does it mean to love God with all your strength? A pastor defines it: ‘It means expending tremendous amounts of energy for Kingdom causes. It means blood, sweat, and tears. It means servanthood and sacrifice. It means good old-fashioned hard work. Energy may be the least appreciated dimension of love because it’s the least sentimental. And how we invest our energy reveals our true priorities.’ It reveals how much we love someone; in this case, God. The pastor continues: ‘Christianity was never intended to be a noun. And when we turn it into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. We’ve got to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to seize opportunities to serve … At the end of the day, God isn’t going to say, ‘Well said, good and faithful servant’… but, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’
Devotion – Make God the Source of Your Self-Worth
God said, ‘Since you are precious in My sight, …’ (Isaiah 43:4 NASB20). So don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Why is this important? Because understanding who you are as a person and genuinely believing that you merit love and attention from another person is essential to your self-worth. The capability to convey that successfully and in a considerate manner is essential for any healthy, mutually satisfying relationship. A sense of self-worth is not arrogance. It helps you to set boundaries and guarantees that no matter who you meet, those boundaries will never be compromised. Often, when we feel used in relationships, it’s because we have permitted those boundaries to be crossed. Or worse, we have never thought about where the boundaries should be. The way to prevent this situation is to be clear about who you are and what you are willing to do in a relationship.
Devotion – Knowing When to be Quiet
Calvin Coolidge, the thirtieth US president, was known as a reserved man who spoke very little. One day, when a reporter attempted to interview him, the conversation went like this: Reporter: ‘Do you wish to say anything about the threat of war in Europe?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Do you have anything to say about the strike in the clothing factories?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Do you have anything to say about the League of Nations?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ Reporter: ‘Would you care to comment on the farm production problem?’ Coolidge: ‘No.’ As the reporter was leaving the room, Coolidge unexpectedly called him back and said with a smile, ‘Don’t quote me!’
The Bible says, ‘For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. … A time to be quiet and a time to speak’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7 NLT). Never allow yourself to be pressured into saying something you don’t want to say or get drawn in when you don’t feel like talking. Silence isn’t a lack of communication; it’s a form of communication and can be a very effective one! Proverbs 29:11 (NKJV) says, ‘A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.’ One thing is for sure, what you don’t say today, you won’t have to explain or apologise for tomorrow. If your tendency is to speak without thinking, or when you have nothing constructive to add, weigh the situation carefully and ask God for wisdom before deciding if you should speak or be quiet. Remember: ‘Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.’ (Proverbs 17:28 NKJV).
SoulFood: Isa 1-3 John 5:16-30 Ps 15 Pro 27:10-12
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024