Day 12: Don't be afraid...

How has Love 40 days been for you so far?  Has it been easy to put yourself out there every day, risking people thinking you are a bit weird, or a complete Bible-basher?  Sometimes people don't respond to loving actions the way we think they will, or we don't get anything back when we thought we might.

Often it seems easier to love from a distance and not risk it.  To choose to pray for someone, or text them, rather than actually speak to them or do something face to face where you could feel uncomfortable.  In this social media age doing relationship via computer seems far less risky...

However, this is not "following the example of Christ" from Ephesians 5:2.  Jesus got right in the mess of real relationship and loved in every situation.  And while it is great to pray for every single name you pull out, it is also great to get out there and see what happens when you take a leap of faith and share yourself, not fearing what the other person might think...

1 John 4:18 tells us that: perfect love expels all fear.

God loves you with perfect love.  His love in you will drive your fears of how others perceive you far, far away.  If this is something with which you struggle (and if we are being honest, we all struggle with it to some degree) you could spend time offering your fears to God today, maybe read the whole of 1 John 4 to be encouraged, maybe share a symbolic action as a family where you write or draw your fears on papers that you then throw away in the bin as you thank God for hus perfect love.

And then get out there and do those good things that we read about yesterday!

Day 11: Do the good things...

Hopefully over the past few days you will have had a chance to think about how much God loves you - how he is generous and sacrificial and how he believes in you.  Hopefully you understand that Jesus gave us a role model to follow as we seek to show love to others.  Hopefully you have had time to offer your praise to God for loving you so much...

But what about you?  Where do you fit in this process?  God is love and Jesus lived a life of love - as his followers how do we become part of this love team?

Here are some thoughts from Ephesians 2:4-10:

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.  (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)  For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.  So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.  God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.  He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God planned your day today.  He knows who you are going to pick out, why they need loving today and how you are going to love them.  These are the good things he planned for you.

Your loving is not going to save you - your salvation is a gift from God, given and received.  But in doing these loving acts you are walking in God's purposes for you - joining with him as he loves the world around you.

Let that truth speak to your heart today - and be encouraged!

10 days done...

Well done, we're ten days in and a quarter of the way there!

What have you learned so far, about love, about God, about yourself?  Which loving acts have you tried that worked really well?  What would you like to share with your fellow Love 40 days-ers today?  It could be that your story helps others in their loving today!

Leave your comments below - we'd all love to hear from you...

Day 10: Hosanna...

Here are some lyrics from Hillsong's Hosanna to encourage you as you seek to love the person you pulled out today.  Perhaps you could sing them or use them as a prayer in your personal devotions...

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
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


Day 9: Reciprocating...

We have been spending time thinking about how God loves us and how Jesus showed the world what love looks like.  As well as encouraging us, this also shows us how we can love others during our Love 40 days challenge.  But as we do this, we must remember to love God back!  We will never be effective in loving if we aren't spending time with the God who is love.

In response to the question about the greatest commandment of Moses Jesus did tell us to love others, but first 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)

Taking time to concentrate on loving God today will make us more effective in loving others, including the person whose name you pick today.  You could spend time praising to music, reading a psalm, or writing a letter of thanks and gratitude.

You can even share your thoughts below if that would encourage others...

Day 8: Following the example of Christ...

One of the verses which gives us a foundation for the Love 40 days challenge is Ephesians 5:2 which tells us to: live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. 

It is our prayer that over these forty days each one of us becomes more Christlike - following him as he loves the world.  To follow his example we need to know what he did and how he did it - so here are some stories from the book of  Matthew to help us...

• Matthew 8:1-4 -Jesus is always ready and willing to help people - 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, 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 a 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

You may have another favourite story about the way in which Jesus showed his great love - if so please share it in the comments below and be encouraged and inspired to love today, following Jesus...

Day 7: Our God is love...

While we are thinking about love it is always worth remembering that everything we know about love comes from God, because God is love (1 John 4:8).

If you have time today, listen to this song by Hillsong that reminds us of this great truth about God.

We have looked at four characteristics of God's love for us to remind us of how loved we are and to encourage us to love with a love like God's.  Of course, there are many more characteristics of his love.  We could look at a characteristic every day for the whole forty days and still have so much more to learn...

As you listen to the song today, ask God to fill your heart with his love, or as you read the Bible today, ask God to show you a specific truth about how he loves you.  If you would like to encourage others with stories or scriptures please use the comments below.