DAY 1 – MARCH 1, 2010

TITLE: “LOVE ONE ANOTHER”

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11-24

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11

KEY VERSE: “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” I John 3:11

Love can have a variety of faces and take on numerous shapes. I Corinthians 13 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” I Corinthians 13:4-8. What does it mean to love one another? Reflect on that question today as you read this story by author, Dave Simmons.

He wrote, “I took Helen (eight years old) and Brandon (five years old) to the Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg to do a little shopping. As we drove up, we spotted a Peterbilt eighteen-wheeler parked with a big sign on it that said, “Petting Zoo”. The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, ‘Daddy, daddy. Can we go? Please. Please. Can we go?’ ‘Sure,’ I said, flipping them both a quarter, before walking into Sears. They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw. A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected in the mall with about six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds. Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy little critters while their moms and dads shop.

“A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me. I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo. Recognizing my error, I bent down and asked her what was wrong. She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly, ‘Well, daddy, it cost fifty cents. So, I gave Brandon my quarter.’ Then she said the most beautiful thing I ever heard. She repeated the family motto. The family motto is in ‘Love is Action!’

She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures more than Helen. She had watched Sandy take my steak and say, ‘Love is Action!’ She had watched both of us do and say, ‘Love is Action!’ for years around the house and Kings Arrow Ranch. She had heard and seen ‘Love is Action,’ and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle. It had become part of her. What do you think I did? Well, not what you might think. As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo. We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon. I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it, because she knew the whole family motto. It's not ‘Love is Action.’ It's ‘Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!’ Love always pays a price. Love always costs something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits accrue to another's account. Love gives; it doesn't grab. Helen gave her quarter, for she wanted to experience that total family motto. Love is sacrificial action. What does it mean to you to love one another?”

DAY 2 – MARCH 2, 2010

TITLE: “BECAUSE WE LOVE OUR BROTHERS”

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11-24

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:12-15

KEY VERSE: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” I John 3:14

When a person looks outside and sees clouds forming, it can be a sign that rain is coming. The gas gauge in your car can indicate the need to stop at a gas station by showing you the amount of fuel you have or don’t have. A large “to do list” early in the morning can reveal that it is going to be a busy day. There are many things in our lives that serve as indicators.

John writes that love for our brothers is an indicator that we have passed from death to life. The concept of passing from death to life is clearly communicated in John 5:24. Passing from death to life reveals the contrast between death and life. It expresses that we belong to God’s eternal kingdom and have overcome eternal death through faith in Christ. Love for one another is a sign that we belong to God’s eternal kingdom and that we have been born from above or as John 3:5 says, “born of the Spirit.” It reveals that we have passed from death to life, because it shows that we have experienced God’s love in our own lives. Love is an expression of the transforming power of God. It reveals that God is at work in our lives. It testifies to the power of God that transforms our lives, taking us from death to life.

A bridge is a structure built for the purpose of providing passage over an obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support and crossbeam arrangement. The greatest bridge builders of antiquity were the ancient Romans. The Romans built arch bridges and aqueducts that could stand in conditions that would damage or destroy earlier designs. According to experts, there are six main types of bridges: beam bridges, cantilever bridges, arch bridges, suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, and truss bridges.

Jesus is the only bridge that enables us to pass from death to life. In other words, true life is only possible in Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. When a person passes from death to life, they are transformed by the power of Christ. Our lives should then indicate the life that we have in, and through, Christ. This life is demonstrated through loving one another.

Our love for others serves as an indicator that we have passed from death to live. As John said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35.

DAY 3 – MARCH 3, 2010

TITLE: “THIS IS HOW WE KNOW WHAT LOVE IS”

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11-24

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:16

KEY VERSE: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” I John 3:16

It is said that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, "What will you give me if I release you?" "The half of my wealth," was his reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I possess." "And if I release your wife?" "Your Majesty, I will give myself." Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, "Wasn't Cyrus a handsome man!" With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, "I didn't notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- -the one who was willing to give himself for me."

Jesus is the one who laid down His life for us. This was a clear demonstration of love. The voluntary self-giving of Jesus to others in life and death is the epitome of God’s great demonstration of love. As Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Romans 5:8. In Jesus’ death, we see the fullness of God’s love as well as the essence of love itself. Jesus’ voluntary giving of His life is both a revelation of the extent of God’s love and an example for us to follow.

Jesus shows us that true love is not just an emotional thought or good intention. True love is something that is to be lived out in our actions. The revelation of God’s love is not something that we are just to applaud or cheer. In other words, God’s love is not simply a display to be admired. It is something to be responded to in a way that changes our own lives and relationships with others. The love of Jesus is the power that transfers those who have faith, from death to life. Because of what Jesus has done for us and the difference it has made in our lives, we know we are loved. Out of that love, we are to follow His example.

This is the type of love that we are to pass on to others. Out of the love we received from God, we are to love others so they know they are loved. Authentic love is a personal commitment to give oneself to foster the highest good and well-being of others. The love of Jesus calls us to love others with His love. Jesus shows us what love is so we may love others.

“I love you with the love of the Lord
Yes, I love you with the love of the Lord
I can see in you the glory of my King
And I love you with the love of the Lord.” (James Gilbert)

DAY 4 – MARCH 4, 2010

TITLE: “IF ANYONE HAS MATERIAL POSSESSIONS ”

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11-24

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:17

KEY VERSE: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him” I John 3:17

In 2005, when Thomas Cannon died of colon cancer in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he was 79. Thomas described himself a "poor man's philanthropist." When Thomas was 3 years old, his father died. When Thomas' mother remarried, the family of six lived in a three-room wooden shack without running water or electricity. As an adult, Thomas went to work with the postal service. He never made more than $25,000 a year. Upon retirement, he and his wife lived in poverty. Yet, over the course of 33 years, Thomas gave away more than $156,000. His gifts were mainly in the form of $1,000 checks given to people he read about in the newspaper who were going through hard times or who especially exemplified courage or kindness. A youth worker in a low-income apartment complex, a volunteer faithfully serving at an elementary school, a Vietnamese couple wanting to return home to visit, and a teenager abandoned as an infant were some of the recipients of Thomas' benevolence.

Thomas' motivation came from an incident that happened as a young man while away at a Naval Signal School. When an explosion at Chicago's Port took the lives of many of his shipmates, Thomas concluded, "he had been spared to help others and be a role model." This led to his passion for giving. Cannon’s biographer, Sandra Waugaman, commented, "Not many people would consider living in a house in a poor neighborhood without central heat, air conditioning, or a telephone, and working overtime so that they could save money to give away."

This man left a legacy of a life spent giving to others. As followers of Christ, how are you and I to respond to the needs of others? As followers of Jesus, filled with His love, we are to leave a legacy of love. The love of God within us will not allow us to walk by others without pity and compassion. As recipients of His love, we are called to care about others. Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” I Corinthians 10:24. To the church of Philippians he wrote, “Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4

Each and every day we have an opportunity to ask God to open our eyes to the people and needs around us and show us what we ought to do. Each day, we have an opportunity to be generous. Each day, we have an opportunity to reflect the love of God through our response to others. As has been said, each day we have an opportunity to be His hands and feet. Oswald Chambers asks this question in the February 5 devotional of his book, My Utmost for His Highest, “Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister?”

DAY 5 – MARCH 5, 2010

TITLE: “WITH ACTIONS AND IN TRUTH”

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:11-24

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: I John 3:18-24

KEY VERSE: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” I John 3:18

Genuine love must be practical, visible, and active. Faith in Christ goes beyond the testimony we give or the word we speak. The book of James points out that faith is to be expressed in actions. It says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” James 2:14-16

True faith in Christ is expressed through love. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6. Love is to be expressed by our actions. John reminds us in I John 3:18 that authentic love goes beyond saying the words, “I love you”. Love is to be expressed with actions and in truth. When we love with action, it testifies to the truth of Christ

When Michigan residents, Christine Bouwkamp and Kyle Kramer got married in the spring of 2007, they held a wedding reception that was anything but traditional. Instead of hosting a formal dinner, they held a simple reception at their church where guests were invited to help distribute food to people in need.

In the weeks leading up to their wedding, Christine and Kyle had decided they wanted to begin their marriage with an act of service to Christ. They wanted to do something tangible that would express their love for others.

With that goal in mind, they figured out how much money they would have spent on a more extravagant reception and, instead, they used that money to purchase five thousand pounds of food for those in need. The week of the wedding, the couple spread the word that a truck with free food would be at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship where they attended. Immediately after they exchanged their vows, Bouwkamp and Kramer put on aprons marked "Bride" and "Groom" and joined their wedding guests in distributing food to 100 neighborhood families in need. They had a heart to minster to others in a visible and practical way. They set aside benefiting themselves and used this opportunity to express their love to the people in need around them.

What are some tangible ways that you can express love today? Ask God to open up your eyes and heart today to see ways to love others with actions and in truth.