“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’” Romans 13:8 (NLT)
CHALLENGE
To leave a life legacy of being a person who loved people.
PREPARATION
- Praise God for who He is
- Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing
- Allow His Spirit to draw you near
- Listen as He speaks to you
REQUESTS
- To identify one person (outside of my family and friends) who needs to know the love of God, and pray for them on a daily basis.
- For God to give me the motivation to encourage and support that person I have identified with practical acts of love and compassion according to the needs in their life.
- To identify people in my church who I do not know and express words of care, and concern and interest in their life as a beginning point in loving them.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for hearing you.
- Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.
OPTIONAL READINGS
- Philippians 2:1-11
LIFE STORY
One day I was fairly discouraged about a situation that I had been dealing with for a few weeks. I was tired of the problem and I was sitting in my office moping and wishing I was in Hawaii instead (wanted to run away from my problem). I started praying and saying “God, do you care about my situation or not?”
I continued working and a man from West-heights came into my office and said, “I was praying a while ago [he told me when it was and it was the same time I was praying] and I believe God told me to come over and pray with you and encourage you. I think I should tell you that God loves you.” I was blown out of the water that God would care but also that this man would stop in the middle of his activities for the day and come and seek to encourage me. The man prayed with me and I was so encouraged by his act of prayer. And the words he prayed spoke so clearly into my life that I felt literally “healed” of my burden. I am grateful for the simple act of obedience by this man in our church as it had a profound impact on my life.
I believe that this is a demonstration of the body of Christ the way God intended it to be: People seeking to love others and respond to God’s direction and to be the voice and hands and feet of God wherever and whenever needed.
Contributed by: Todd Lester