Jesus is a Savior of Action~

Happy Valentine’s Day DEVO, all you beautiful and loved children of God~

Today is all about the love.  I myself woke up to a lovely card and calorie-laden chocolate treat!  My husband woke up to well-wishes and a peck on the cheek. 

And everywhere we look we see the evidence of this special day.  Here in Miami it seems as though every street corner has a vendor selling roses, stuffed animals, or heart-shaped balloons.  Most of the folks at my office are wearing pink or red today, and I am certain there will be plenty of folks eating out tonight.  All this to celebrate love, and it’s lovely!

Love, after all, is God’s idea, and it’s a good one. 

How do we know we are loved? 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God loved and then God gave.  Love is a verb; it always does something.

For the past few DEVO’s we have followed the encounter that a grieving widow whose son died had with Jesus.  He saw her, He told her not to cry, and then BAM! He touched her son, and he bolted right up!

What’s the point in saying, “Don’t cry,” unless there is going to be some kind of follow through to help those tears stop flowing?

It makes perfect sense to me.

May we all get it through our thick heads today that Jesus is a Savior of action.  He gets involved with words that encourage us and follows through with actions that strengthen our faith and heal our hearts.  

Glory glory hallelujah!

I could tell Jorge “I love you,” all day long, but once in a while I better cook his favorite dinner, I better control my temper, I better cheer him on when he’s had a rough day at work and keep my critical comments to myself etc…etc…etc…In other words, I better prove it.  How else would Jorge know that he is the love of my life?  How else would we have known that God loves us if He had not sent Christ?  How would the widow have felt if Jesus would have told her to stop crying and then turned around and gone on His merry way with the crowd?

Love gives, love listens, love encourages, love never looks the other way, and I love it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for loving us.  Thank You that Jesus is a Savior of action.  In His name, AMEN~

Pure Joy~

Good morning:)

James 1:2-4

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Yesterday's DEVO was one of those that really got a bunch of us thinking. I will confess that I don't think I have been as proactive as I should in having joy in the middle of difficulties, which is why I want us all to do something that we as a DEVO group have never done before

But first I want to clarify something: The joy we are supposed to be having is not because of the actual trial we face, but because we face the trial with Jesus on our side. We don't ever say, "Jesus, thank You that my house is being foreclosed on." Rather, we say, "Thank You that You are with me in this circumstance and because You take care of me I can be calm and happy."

There's a big difference!

Nevertheless, the perspective God wants us to have means we have to make an effort. The word "consider" is a verb. It requires action on our part. When we find ourselves feeling anything less than joy, it's time to re-direct our thinking.

On to our group assignment. Think about what trials you are facing today. If it is hurting you or bothering you or if it has you down--no matter what it is--God wants you to consider this as an opportunity to have joy. Even if you don't feel like it, take a step faith today and pray:

Dear Lord, Thank You that this trial I am in is an opportunity for me to have joy and stronger faith. I admit the concept seems foreign to me, but I take a step of faith today and thank You that I am not alone. Help me to really not only believe that joy is possible while I struggle, but that because I am praying, You will help me have it. I need it! In Jesus' name, AMEN~