“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16 (NLT)
CHALLENGE
Sacrifice: Pray today for all people and ask Jesus to guide and give you insight to the needs of your brothers and sisters, so that you can make a positive difference in their life.
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
- Remember why God has sent His only Son for us.
- Lord, show me how I think towards the concept of “laying down my life for.”
- Check your heart to see if you are truly “loving one another” as the scripture tells us.
- Are you willing to sacrifice your time for a brother or sister in need?
- Lord, give me an attitude of unconditional love.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for hearing you.
- Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.
OPTIONAL READINGS
- Hebrews 2:18
LIFE STORY
Sacrifice. That is what love is. God loved us so much that he sent his only Son into the world so we could receive life through him. Jesus became flesh and lived amongst us, living our pain, our life and showing us the way.
God has taught me to love people, not just my family and friends, but others. Sometimes life can get too busy so it’s easier to write a cheque to an organization. Reaching out and loving others can be challenging. How can you ‘love’ someone you don’t know? Where do you start?
We have sat down as a family and discussed how can we reach out to others. One of the things we have decided is to help a local church every other Saturday who works hand-in-hand with the Food Bank. This has been such a spiritual, uplifting and rewarding experience for our family.
Helping out these families, seeing the smiles on their faces when you hand them the food box, makes it all worthwhile. When you prepare the food box, you know how many people are in the family, the type of foods they like or don’t like and you try to do the best you can with what food we have on hand. You can’t help but not feel love and attachment to these individuals. Not to mention to all the other volunteers that work there. This is a time commitment that we have made to make a difference to others.
Contributed by: Cathy Burns