Tag: Devoted

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Living In Community, Not Made to Be Alone, Quiet Time

Love and Honor

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based on, Not Made to Be Alone, a LGG Study, w4d4

Today’s Reading: Romans 12:9-21 / SOAP: 10

Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.


Romans 12:9-10
Outdo one another

We talk so much about loving others that the ‘lesson’ can sometimes become old or stale and easy to brush off. But today’s passage isn’t just about loving others or even how we show love, instead it focuses on making sure our love is devoted, mutual, and eager to honor the other – or as one translation puts it – “Outdo one another in showing honor”. These other translations are helpful as well.

  • Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. NIV
  • Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, NASB
  • Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. CSB
  • Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. NLT
  • Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; KJV

To truly love like verse ten teaches, we must first heed Paul’s words in verse nine of chapter twelve, that says, let your love be without hypocrisy. In other words, their love – like ours – is to be ‘genuine’. Only this genuine love will translate into the love that Jesus described in Mark chapter twelve as the second greatest commandment, which is loving your neighbor (or those from your community of faith) as yourself. When this is the love we possess/share we will be able to fulfill Paul’s teaching of being devoted to one another in love, sharing a mutual love, and eagerly honoring (greatly valuing) each other.

Don’t just pretend to love other. Really love them –

Romans 12:9 NLT
The impact of Real love

When we “love really” we will fall into step with the rest of Paul’s instructions. We will be enthusiastic in spirit and serve the Lord. We will rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, and persist in prayer. We will contribute to the needs of the saints and pursue hospitality. We will bless those who persecute us. We will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We will live in harmony with one another and we won’t be haughty but associate with the lowly.  We will not be conceited. We will not repay anyone evil for evil but consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on us, we will live peaceably with all people. We will not avenge ourselves but give place to God’s wrath, because we know vengeance belongs to the Lord. Instead, when our enemy is hungry we will feed him, if he is thirsty we will give him drink, and we will not be overcome by evil, but we will overcome evil with good.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study, The Importance of Prayer

Devoted to Prayer

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The Importance of Prayer, A love God Greatly study – w1d1
Today’s Reading: Acts 2:42-47; SOAP: Acts 2:42

Welcome to Week 1, Day 1 of The newest study by Love God Greatly – “The Importance of Prayer”. Join me here M-F for commentary, links, and a place to grow in your faith and understanding of the importance of prayer in the life of a believer.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

According to one of the definitions I found for the word ‘devoted’, verse 42 could read – “the believers were given over to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” However, there was another definition for the word devoted that I truly love in regard to prayer. The definition is ‘very loving or loyal’, and when used in verse 42 would enhance the previous reading something like this – “The believers were devoted to Christ and given over, out of love and loyalty for Christ, to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

What a beautiful picture and basis for prayer – that we, as the followers of Christ, would be moved to pray, not only when we are in need, but out of loyalty to and love for Christ. We only have to read the rest of the passage to see the benefit of their devotion. As they gave themselves over to the teaching and the fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and the prayers, Luke writes that “awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” They were dwelling in harmony with one another and caring for the needs of others, meeting together in the temple, “praising God and having favor with all the people.” And here’s perhaps the richest of the benefits – “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Certainly this is great reason to consider prayer and fellowship with believers vital to the work of God through us.

“The believers were devoted to Christ and given over, out of love and loyalty for Christ, to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Acts 2:42 my paraphrase
Reflections: Making it Personal

The early Christians devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

  • How do you think these four actions influenced their daily lives?
  • How can we live like this today?
Prayer: Response to God’s Word

Father, help me to faithfully live devoted to Jesus – to His teachings, doing life with other believers, and to prayer. In this You will be glorified.

Don’t forget to check out today’s blog from the Love God Greatly Team

https://lovegodgreatly.com/lgg-blog/
Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, She, Volume 2

Anna: Never Ceasing Prayer

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TODAY’S READING: Luke 2:36-50 (37-38)
She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
MY OBSERVATIONS:

Wow! How can one small passage pack such an amazing message? From the obvious to the somewhat obscure, this familiar passage held so much that jumped off the page as though I had never read it before in my life.

helpful background details
  • Anna was a prophetess (verse 36), which means she was a woman who proclaimed God’s WORD – speaking everything God gave her to speak – and boy, did He give her a lot to speak on this day.
  • As verse 36 tells us, Anna was the “daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher“, meaning she was a descendant of Jacob.
  • When verse 38 says, “At that moment”, it is referring to the time Mary and Joseph had come to the Temple to present Jesus to the LORD; setting Him apart to the LORD was fulfilling the law’s requirement for every firstborn male.
Anna

Anna spent her life at the Temple. She worshiped God through fasting and praying both night and day, clearly she was devoted to God. In 2022, my Pastor preached on ‘worship’ as part of a series titled “The 7 Habits of Deeply Spiritual People”. The first, and what I believe he called the core habit, is “worship”. He shared several definitions of worship, including:

  • “giving or showing someone their worth“
  • “the outpouring of a soul because we’re at rest with God“
  • “the occupation of the heart with God Himself”
  • and “a conscious passion to glorify God in everything because He alone is deserving”

Pastor Lemming made the point that this type of worship only happens when we see God for who He really is. Clearly, Anna saw God for who He really was, and because she did, she was able to see Jesus, even as a young child, for who He really was – the long-awaited Messiah! It was her surrender that fueled her awareness of who He was, which in turn fueled her mission to “speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem”.

Essential to Anna’s story and her worship is that she was a prayer warrior. She’s actually a great example of what Paul instructed the Colossians to be like in Colossians 4:2, when he said: “Be devoted to prayer.”

Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Note again Anna’s reaction in verse 38, “At that moment, [Anna] came up to [Mary and Joseph, and Jesus] to give thanks to God and to speak about the child, [Jesus], to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” With a heart beautifully surrendered to God, Anna was positioned to see and be a part of God’s presence and work.

How Then Should We Live?

Surely we are to live beautifully surrendered like Anna, daily worshiping God. We may not be at the physical “temple” night and day as she was, but what hit me as I was reading and digesting the passage were the words of Paul to the Corinthians that – we, our physical bodies, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and was given to us by God. We are meant to worship God – showing Him His worth, recognizing His vast superiority, having a conscious passion to glorify Him in everything – “night and day”, just like Anna.

We are meant to proclaim Jesus just like Anna, for Jesus is the Gospel message, the very message that Paul said is the “power of God for salvation”.

 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16 NET

We are to be devoted to prayer as she was; it should not be something we only do in the morning and evening or when we have a desperate need. We are meant to pray “without ceasing”, staying alert to the opportunities and needs throughout the day to call on or cry out praises to Him on our own behalf or for others.

Prayer Response

Father – what beautiful words and instruction from a Scripture passage so familiar and yet somehow so new. Help us to live like Anna – devoted to You in every way – worshiping You night and day, fixed on You, unceasing in prayer, and unashamed to proclaim Jesus! ~ In the name of Jesus, so let it be ~