Day 14: To love and obey...

Yesterday we started thinking about obedience.  This is not necessarily a theme that springs to mind when we think of the hearts and flowers sort of love predominant in our culture, but when we look at the Bible we often find that where we find a call to love, we find a call to obedience.

For example, look at Deuteronomy 10:12: And now, Israel (or put in your own name), what does the LORD your God require of you?  He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.

Or consider Daniel 9:4: O Lord, you are a great and awesome God!  You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.

There is no doubt that the Bible tells us that part of our loving God is obeying His commandments to us.  We cannot pay lip service and profess our devotion to Him without actually devoting our lives, thoughts and actions to Him and following His word.

This is our heart's prayer as we seek to Love 40 days.  As Romans 13:8 reminds us: Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another.  If you love your neighbour, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.

As you seek to love others today, remember that this is part of your obedience to God, as you seek to love Him better too.

For the kids:
Read the passages together - use the Deuteronomy verse to challenge the children as to what God wants from them, and include their name so they understand it is for them too.  And use the Daniel verse as a prayer to God to help them understand how big God is, reminding them that God always keeps His promises.  Spend time together asking God to help you to love and obey, especially if you can think of specific areas where the children find it hard to do this.

Day 13: If you love me...

Jesus had a lot to say about love.  Not all of what He had to say makes particularly easy reading.  Some of it we might rather dilute.

In John 14:15, we read this: If you love me, obey my commandments.  Trying to obey Jesus' commandments is one of the motivations for Love 40 days - the commandment we find to love others in John 13:34.  But since Jesus is so straight down the line about our obedience to Him being intrinsic to our loving Him, let's take the time to read His words today and let them speak to our hearts. 

If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognise him.  But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.  No I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you.  Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.  Since I live, you will also live.  When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them.  And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. [...]  All who love me will do what I say.  My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.  Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me.  And remember, my words are not my own.  What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.  I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.  But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative - that is, the Holy Spirit - he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:15-26

 

It is worth taking time to pray over this passage today and ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you seek to love and obey Jesus, especially given the message that Jonathan brought to us on Sunday about the way that our lives can and should look when we are truly living a life filled with the Spirit.  You may even want to listen to this message again during this week if you can.

 

For the kids:

Jesus said to us: "If you love me, obey my commandments." (John 14:15) Can you list some of the things that Jesus commanded us to do and talk about whether you are following what He asks you to do?  Pray for Him to help you as you seek to be obedient and show Him that you love Him like He loves you.

 



Day 12: Show me...

Today we are going to use a Psalm as a prayer to guide our thoughts as we seek to love others - for as we know, we cannot do this without God's help.  The scripture below from Psalm 25:4-9 is from the NIV, but you might also want to read it in other versions - The Message is also a good one to try...

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
For you are God my Saviour and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
According to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

For the kids:
Read the Psalm together and talk together about any questions that the children have.  Pray together that God would show each of us His ways and how He wants us to love - not only the name we pick out today but everyone we meet.

Day 11: Every Day...

The half term break, if you had it, has come to an end.  If you didn't get a break, then it is still another Monday morning and time to get on with the working week again.  You have now completed the first 10 days of Love 40 days and maybe the novelty is starting to wear off a little and your creativity for loving acts is starting to wane.

Today, take time to remind yourself that living a life of love and following the example of Christ is a daily commitment.  We cannot do it by making one decision on a specific date and then expect to find it easy to love forever after.  But we can offer ourselves to God every single day (throughout Love 40 days and far beyond) and know that He will help us, guide us, love us and give us enough love to share with others.  You may be encouraged by the following lyrics from Hillsong's Every Day - perhaps enjoy them here to brighten up your Monday or just read them as a personal commitment that you choose to make for today.  And then commit again tomorrow.  And the day after.  And after that.  And....

What to say Lord, it's You who gave me life and I can't explain just how much You mean to me now that You have saved me, Lord, I give all that I am to You, that every day I could be a light that shines Your name.

Every day, Lord, I'll learn to stand upon Your word and I pray that I, I might come to know You more, that You would guide me in every single step I take, that every day I can be Your light unto the world.

Every day, it's You I live for
Every day, I'll follow after You
Every day, I'll walk with You my Lord

It's You I live for every day...

For the kids:
We are 10 days into Love 40 days - with 30 left to go!  Half term is over and it's back to school.  But we don't have to slip into routine and forget about what we are doing.  We can choose to follow Jesus every single day and it is helpful to do so because it reminds us who we are follow.  Take time today to sing the words above - you might like to use this Hillsong Kids clip to get your Monday going!

10 days done...

As we mentioned on Saturday, you are already 10 days into Love 40 days... 

How has it been going? 

You may be following the 40 names in a box suggestion and pulling out a name every day or you may have adapted the ideas to work for your world and be loving others in a slightly different way - the practicalities aren't really important as long as you are taking up the challenge to intentionally live out Jesus' commandment in John 13:34.

It would be interesting to hear any thoughts you have so far.  Have you learnt anything new about loving?  Have you learnt anything new about yourself?  Have you learnt anything new about God - how He loves you and how He helps you to love others?

If you haven't commented yet, it is easy to do so.  You click on the comment link below this post, and type your thoughts into the white box.  Where it says comment as you can choose to log in with a Google account or click Name/URL and just enter your name when prompted.  That's it!

You don't have to have anything dramatic or eloquent to say - this isn't about how well you write!  But we will all benefit from sharing the news about what God is doing as we press on with the next 30 days, so please feel free to join the conversation...

Day 10: Hosanna...

Take a moment to dwell on the following lyrics, from Hillsong's Hosanna.  Allow them to speak to you as you seek to love today or use the song as part of your personal devotions:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseens
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

For the kids:
Read the words together or watch/join in with the Youtube clip (click above), and use the lyrics as a basis for a family prayer time.

Day 9: Following the example of Christ...

From the moment that Jesus called the fishermen away from their nets and boats so that He could show them how to "fish for people" (Matthew 4:19), He showed them how He wanted them to love.  If we are truly to "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" (Ephesians 5:2) we would be wise to consider the following stories, just a glimpse of the life of our Lord from a few chapters from the book of Matthew:

• Matthew 8:1-4 - Jesus is always ready and willing to help - healing a man from leprosy
• Matthew 9:1-8 - Jesus forgives and meets needs - healing the paralysed man
• Matthew 9:20-22 - Jesus reaches to the unclean, ends suffering, and brings hope and encouragement - healing the woman with constant bleeding
• Matthew 12:9-13 - Jesus puts people over tradition, schedule or being in a religious club - healing the man with the deformed hand on the Sabbath
• Matthew 14:13-15 - Jesus' compassion for the lost overrides his own grief and emotions - following the death of John the Baptist
• Matthew 15:21-28 - Jesus loves and serves indiscriminately - the story of the faith of the Gentile woman
• Matthew 19:13-15 - Jesus loves the little ones - blessing the children

Take time to consider these stories, or choose your own favourite story of Jesus showing love, and ask Him to guide you as you seek to follow His example today.  If you have a particular favourite story of Jesus showing love that you feel would encourage others, please comment below and share the reference...

For the kids:
If we want to love others, the best things we can do is copy the way that Jesus loved others - because He did it perfectly.  Choose one of the passages above, or your own favourite story of Jesus showing love to others, and talk together about how Jesus showed love to others, before asking God to teach you to love like Jesus through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Day 8: The Face of God...

Maybe you saw the recent film production of Les Miserables (if you did, I wonder how long you lasted before you shed a tear?!).  It is a great story of salvation, redemption, and sacrifice.  The thought for the day today comes from the last words spoken by the lead character, Jean Valjean: "to love another person is to see the face of God."  This is an interesting thought to consider, especially given our other readings so far this week.  How will you see the face of God today?

You may also like to dwell on this scripture from Matthew 25:34-40:

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you fed me.  I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing.  I was sick, and you cared for me.  I was in prison, and you visited me.'  Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?  Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality?  Or maked and give you clothing?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

If you have any thoughts, stories or challenges to share from this passage, please feel free to do so by posting a comment on this post!

For the kids:
There is a quote from a story called Les Miserables which says: "to love another person is to see the face of God."  What do you think this means?  Is it that when we love somebody else we are looking at that person and seeing God, or is it that we become more like God because we need Him to help us?  Or maybe a bit of both.  There is a verse in Matthew 25 in which Jesus tells us that when we love and serve others, we love and serve Him.  Let's look out for God's face today!

Day 7: Frenemies...

Frenemies - it's a new word.  Friends you are supposed to love to hate.  Or enemies you pretend to be friends with.  You may have some of these on your list...

It is a lot easier to love the people who are easy to love.  People who are like us.  People who understand us, accept us, respond as we expect them to and even make us feel good about ourselves.  People who love us back.  But Jesus didn't tell us it is ok just to love the lovely people.  He wasn't even slightly vague about it.

"You have heard the law that says 'love your neighbour' and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!"  (Matthew 5:43).

We might not know persecution as some Christians do - but we do know frenemies.  And we are called to love them.  Love them well this Lent.  You will need God's help to do so, as we saw yesterday, but you can do it.  And you need to do it, because He told us to.  Let the words of Jesus from Matthew 5 speak to you today:

You have heard the law that says, 'love your neighbour' and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?  Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?  Even pagans do that.  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

For the kids:
Think of people it is easy to love.  Think of people it is hard to love.  Do you think it is ok to just love the people on your first list?  Let's see what Jesus said about this...

He said: "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbour' and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!"  Matthew 5:43.  Do you think this will be easy or hard to do?  Pray together that Jesus would help you as you seek to love the people who are not as nice to you and spend time specifically praying for people who are hard to love.

Day 6: Loving when it's hard...

We don't always feel like loving.  We don't always want to love.  Sometimes we need to remember that really, without God's help, we can't truly love at all, especially in the way that we have been reading about so far.  But with God's help, our love can, and indeed already has, changed the world.  We just need to ask him to help us and then step out in faith.

Today's post is more reading than usual, but it is so worth reading.  The extract is taken from Tramp for the Lord, by Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who tells of her life and walk with God after the Second World War.  During the war Corrie and her sister Betsie (and other members of her family) were imprisoned in a concentration camp, but despite appalling conditions and cruel abuse by the German guards, they were both used wonderfully by God to tell the other prisoners about the love of Jesus.  Betsie died in the camp but Corrie survived and continued to tell others throughout the world of her experiences and God's amazing love...

It was in a church in Munich that I saw him - a balding, heavy-set man in a grey overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands.  People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear.  It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives.

It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favourite mental picture.  Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander's mind, I liked to think that that's where forgiven sins were thrown.  "When we confess our sins," I said, "God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.  And though I cannot find a Scripture for it, I believe God then places a sign out there that says: NO FISHING ALLOWED."

...And that's when I saw him, working his way forward against the others.  One moment I saw the overcoat and brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.  It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the centre of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man.  I could see my sister's frail form ahead of mea, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin.  Betsie, how thin you were!

The place was Ravensbruck and the man who was making his way forward had been a guard - one of the most cruel guards.

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: "A fine message, Fraulein!  How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!"

And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand.  He would not remember me, of course - how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?

But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt.  I was face-to-face with one of captors and my blood seemed to freeze.

"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying.  "I was a guard there."  No, he didn't remember me.  "But since that time," he went on, "I have become a Christian.  I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well.  Fraulein," - again the hand came out - "will you forgive me?"

And I stood there - I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven - and could not forgive.   Betsie had died in that place - could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there - hand held out - but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it - I knew that.  The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us.  "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience.

... And I still stood there with a coldness clutchign my heart.  But forgiveness is not an emotion - I knew that too.  Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.  "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently.  "I can lift my hand.  I can do that much.  You supply the feeling."

And so, woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.  And as I did, an incredible thing took place.  The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands.  And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried.  "With all my heart."

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner.  I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.  But even so, I realised it was not my love.  I had tried, and did not have the power.  It was the power of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Romans 5:5: we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Today, you will probably not have to face anything like Corrie Ten Boom did, but you may well be faced with situations in which you don't "feel" loving and in which you need God's love to fill you in order to love like God does.  Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you now and rely on God's love within you as you Love 40 days.

For the kids:
If it is appropriate for you children, read the story, or abridge it to tell of a lady who had been very badly hurt by somebody who later met Jesus and realised how bad his choices had been.  He said sorry to the lady and asked her for forgiveneess but she didn't really want to forgive him because she had been so hurt.  Instead of saying no, or pretending, she asked God to help her forgive, and love the person who had been so hurtful.  And God set her free and filled her with love to give to the man, even though she didn't think this was possible.

Talk together about any examples of times that the children have found it difficult to love after somebody has hurt them - whether it is a big or small hurt - and pray with them that God would set them free and fill them with love to give away.

Day 5: Don't be afraid...

This whole process of loving people might be really easy for you.  But you would probably find yourself in the minority.  It is sometimes really hard to love others because we worry about what they will think of us if we are who we want to be in front of them.  Will they think we are weird?  Interfering?  A Bible-bashing do-gooder?  Will they not respond in the way that we expect or will they turn away? 

Isn't it easier to just pray from a distance and not actually get involved with the messiness of being close to people altogether?  Honestly, probably yes.  But is this "following the example of Christ" as Ephesians 5:2 tells us to?  Definitely not.

We don't have to worry about how other people are going to respond or what they are going to think of us in the way that we do - we only need to look again at 1 John 4 to be encouraged, in verses 16-18:

God is love and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.  So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

If you have time, try to read the whole chapter of 1 John 4 today and let its truth speak to your heart.  Be encouraged and ask God to fill you once again with His perfect love.

For the kids:
Sometimes people don't respond how we think they are going to and this can be confusing.  Sometimes we worry about whether people are still going to want to be our friends if we tell them about Jesus.  We should never be scared of trying to love peopel or sharing Jesus with them.  Always remember that God loves us so we don't ever need to be afraid of anything.

Do you worry about what other people think?  Is there anything else you are afraid of?  Ask God to help you understand how much he loves you and how big he is, and give your fears to God.  You might want to write or draw them on a piece of paper and then pray together as a family - then throw those papers in the bin while you think about his verse from 1 John 4:18 - "perfect love expels all fear" - this means that perfect love, the love God has for you, will drive that fear far, far away, never to come back and bother you again.

Day 4: Our God is Love...

This great song from Hillsong (click to view) helps us remember the central truth to what we are doing, that "Our God is love."  Take some time to watch the clip and join in with the song or meditate on the lyrics and let the words speak to your heart.  Be encouraged in your Love 40 days journey and the mission that God has given you.

For the kids:
Try to watch the song together as a family and let them join with you to praise God today.  See if you can teach the children the chorus to the song and maybe make up some actions together.  Try to spend time singing and thanking God for loving us before asking Him to help us show that love to others.

Every soul every beating heart
Every nation and every tongue
Come find hope in the love of the Father

All creation will bow as one
Lift their eyes to the risen Son
Jesus Saviour forever and after

Chrous:
This is love
Jesus came and died and gave His life for us
Let our voices rise and sing for all He's done
Our fear is overcome
Our God is love
Our God is love

Every distant and broken heart
Every prayer every outstretched arm
Finding hope in the love of the Father

Age to age let His praises rise
All the glory for all of time
Jesus Saviour forever and after

Age to age we will be singing
In the light of all He's done
All the earth everyone singing
In the wonder of His love

Remember that there will be no post tomorrow as it is Sunday - but don't forget that last Sunday Rick encouraged us all to try and spend sometime in thanksgiving as we prepare to meet together as a church, suggesting that we use the Psalms to do this, so you might want to try to make time to do that.

Day 3: The first priority...

Love 40 days is all about learning to love each other.  We choose to do this because Jesus told us to and as followers of Jesus we must pay attention to the commands that He gave us.  But while we are spending this time concentrating on the way in which we love others, it is important that we don't neglect our first love.  In John 13:34 Jesus commands us to love others, but in response to the question of the greatest commandment of Moses, Jesus replied: "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:37.

Therefore, take some time today to concentrate on loving God, however that might work best for you.  In devoting yourself to loving God (as Rick explained to us so well on Sunday), you will be better equipped to love others, including the person whose name you pick today.

For the kids:
We are spending these 40 days loving other people and that is really important because Jesus told us that we have to do this as His followers.  But Jesus also reminded us how important it is to love God first: "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37)  Can you spend some time today showing God that you love Him?  You could write Him a letter, draw Him a picture, sing Him a song or spend time telling Him how wonderful you think He is.

Day 2: Happy Valentine's Day...

However you feel about the celebrations today, the world is talking about love.  But not in the way that we are here...

Maybe you are thrilled with your gifts from a loved one, but maybe you didn't receive a card, and seeing hearts everywhere today makes you feel lonelier than ever.  Maybe you have someone to celebrate romantic love with, maybe you don't.  Whatever Valentine's Day means to you, here's the important thing to remember today: "we love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19).  Without God's love there would be no other love at all and whatever else is happening today you have and will always have God's love.

Whether or not you received a card today to tell you that somebody thinks you are special - you did receive a whole book of love declarations written just for you.  The Bible details God's love for you on every single page.  Here are a few places you could look at to remind yourself of this:

• Exodus 34:6
• 1 Kings 8:23
• Psalm 52:8-9
• Psalm 136
• Romans 8:31-39

Do you have any other favourite verses that remind you just how much God loves you?  If so, please do post them in the comments below and share the love today!

For the kids:

Today is Valentine's Day.  This day is used by people - usually romantic couples - to celebrate the love that they share and to tell each other that they are special.  But the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:19 that "we love because he first loved us."

Think about the people who love you the most in the world and how that makes you feel.  And then think about this - God loves you even more than they do.  God loves you so much more than you can even begin to understand.  He gave you a whole book - the Bible - to tell you how much He loves you.  Try to take time to read a Bible story together today, from whichever Bible or Bible story book that your family use, and ask God to show you a glimpse of just how big His love for you really is.

Day 1: The obvious place to start...

When we start to think about love and what the Bible has to say about it, one of the first passages to come to most people's mind would be 1 Corinthians 13.  Even if we had very little knowledge of Jesus, it is likely that we would have heard this passage read at a wedding, and because of this, we can easily make the mistake of thinking this passage is for married couples.  Paul wrote the letter to the whole church about how we should treat each other – this is the love that Jesus commands us to live.  This passage suggests to us that love is an action we can practice rather than a warming feeling or changeable emotion.  Let’s take time as we start this journey to dwell on the whole chapter, and let it affect the way in which we Love 40 days.  It might not be easy – but this is the chapter to guide our first steps...

If I could speak all the languages of earth and angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood al of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless.  But love will last forever!  Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!  But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.  But when I grew up, I put away childish things.  Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.  All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.

For the kids:
Sit down together and come up with a list of words that describe love.  What did you come up with?  Have a look at your list together with the list from 1 Corinthians 13 - taken from a letter Paul wrote to one of the early churches.  This is a great passage in the Bible that tells us what love is really like:

• Patient
• Kind
• Not jealous
• Not proud or boastful or showing off
• Not rude
• Not trying to get your own way
• Not irritable, cross or easily annoyed
• Happy when the truth is told
• Never gives up
• Never stops believing
• Always hopes
• Lasts through every challenge and change

Did you come up with any of the same things?  Talk together about whether this sort of love is easy or hard to do and encourage each other to ask God to help us - then look for opportunities to love like this.

Pancakes...

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the Love 40 days Pancake Launch today.  We had a great time together: sharing ideas, decorating boxes, praying over our names and eating lots and lots of pancakes.

It was great to be together as we set out on this journey - remember to keep encouraging each other online and when we meet, and visit here tomorrow for your first daily inspiration...

Getting ready...

Only a few days to go until we begin to Love 40 days, and so here are a few things to help you prepare...

All you will need to join in are forty slips of paper and a container.  You can use a jar, a box, a bowl or whatever you have.  You then need to write down your forty names on the slips of paper and put them in the container and that's it!  You are ready to go!  If you are coming along to the pancake launch on Shrove Tuesday, you will have the chance to decorate a special Love 40 days box and take time as a family to write your name slips.

Here are a few things it might be helpful to remember:

• You don't need to have a list of forty people to take part - but do challenge yourself to think of as many people as possible.  You might even surprise yourself with how many people you have in your world - or you can use this opportunity to widen your circle.
• You don't need to know the names of all forty people - it is good to include a mixture of relatives, neighbours, work colleagues, school friends, loved ones nearby or far away and even people who are in your world who you don't know personally - people that you might bump into during your daily routine or random strangers you might never meet.
• You can include people you might not always get along with!  We would even encourage you to do so...
• If you miss a day  or two, or three - please don't worry.  This isn't about who can achieve the most.  The idea is to allow God to love through you not to tick a list.  Just do what you can and don't let yourself feel condemned at any point.
• Remember that loving someone else is about thinking what would bless them, not what would make you feel good!  We would encourage you to ask God to guide you as you plan your activities and prayers.
• Ephesians 5:2 is a really important verse to keep in mind - "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" - if in doubt, remember that you are trying to follow the example of Jesus in everything you do.

If you need any suggestions for ways to love people during Love 40 days, then don't forget to visit the ideas tab at the top of the page.  If you would like a copy of the names slips to print out and fill in or would like to receive any of the information sheets, you can email love40days@gmail.com and we will send them to you in time for you to have your slips all ready to go on Wednesday.

Don't forget to come back here every day during Lent for your daily scripture, story, song or suggestion to encourage you in your Love 40 days journey (there won't be a new post on Sundays since these aren't included in Lent).  And please remember to post your comments, share your experiences and let us know any Bible verses that have helped you so that we can all encourage each other too.

See you on Wednesday!

Welcome...

Thanks for visiting the Love 40 days blog...

In John 13:34 we find a commandment from Jesus: "love one another."  This Lent we are going to spend 40 days trying to live this out.  We hope you will join us!

This is the place to find everything you need to help you on your Love 40 days journey.  You can use the tabs above to discover why we are taking this journey, to figure out how you are going to join in, and to find some ideas to get you started.

From 13th February you can visit here to find a daily scripture, thought, song or suggestion to challenge you, encourage you and make you think about what we are doing together.  There will be a new post every day throughout Lent (meaning you won't find a new post on a Sunday, because Sundays aren't included in Lent) so please do come back and have a read.

But we don't just want you to hear from us - we want to hear from you!  Please feel free to use the comments on the daily posts to share your stories and scriptures too.  Let us know what God is doing as you step out and seek to "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" (Ephesians 5:2).  This will encourage all of us and maybe give people new ideas too.  And to get you started, if you are planning to Love 40 days, please comment below with your name and let us know you're in!  You can also email us with longer stories - love40days@gmail.com.

And if you can make it, you can find out more about Love 40 days at our pancake launch on Tuesday 12th February at 4:30pm - don't forget to sign up if you are coming...