DAILY DEVOTIONS with MICHELE

Once we understand spiritual maturity, we can begin to understand what is involved in spiritual warfare. Most folks understand that effective engagement in spiritual warfare requires some degree of spiritual maturity, but they do not understand why.

For many of us, childhood was a time of simple pleasures. We occupied ourselves with having fun, hanging out with friends, dreaming about the future, and being spoiled by our grandparents. As children, we lived carefree lives. Our biggest concerns may have been who we would play with at recess, what we were going to get for Christmas, or how we would celebrate our birthday. Relatively speaking, childhood was a time of exploring and fulfilling our heart’s desires. Little was expected of us and much was given.

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19

God’s love never quits. The love of God is faithful, loyal, and steadfast. God’s love endures to the end and never fails. When you understand that love is not a feeling, you can always choose to love instead of being swept away by whatever you feel.

Serving God is one of the most important principles of the Christian faith, as believers we are expected to help the church with a joyful spirit. “Love one another.” “Care for one another.” “Pray for one another.” “Encourage one another.” “Help one another.” “Counsel one another.” “Support one another.” Scripture repeatedly tells us of our relationship to God and others through service. The Bible teaches that serving God and others is not about doing great things but about doing small things with great love. We can serve God and others daily by being kind to our neighbors, volunteering our time to help others, and giving to those in need. We must remember that serving others may not always be easy, but God's grace and strength will help us. Secondly, we must remember that nothing is too small that God will not use it. Nothing we do for God is in vain! Happy Monday, have an amazing week!  Michele

When you start serving, everything seems to improve. Why? Because you get the focus off of you and your problems and you being living for a greater purpose. As you begin to humbly serve, many doors will open for God to speak to you and bless you.As you begin to use your life to give to others, what you give will come back to you in a magnificent way.

We prove our love for the Lord when we love people who don’t deserve our love. One day, when we stand before God, we will be asked to give an account of our lives. We will all be accountable as to whether or not we loved God’s people. So what does it mean to love? You might say, “I love lattés,” or, “I love chocolate.” You might love your car, or the ocean, or your dog. The real question is, what does it truly mean to love?

The Bible says that God measures our love for Him by the way we love other people. Specifically, it says that if we do not love our brother, we cannot truly call ourselves Christian. 

What you believe means nothing unless you are demonstrating love in your life.  Jesus said they would know us by the way we set aside our differences, by the way we help one another, by the way we bear one another’s burdens; in short, by the way we love one another.