Love Others

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. – Ephesians 5:1-2

Have you ever caught yourself acting like your parents did?  As a teen you likely swore that you’d never grow up to be like them.  Then, one day you hear yourself speaking the same words you heard as a child and it stops you in your tracks. 

Our words sure do reflect what’s in our hearts.

We are told in scripture to mediate on God’s word both day and night, so that we will be careful to do everything that is written.  (Joshua 1:8) Jesus warns us in Mark 4:24, “Consider carefully what you hear.”  He knew that what we hear will greatly influence our minds and hearts.  His half brother, James said it wasn’t enough to hear the word, we must hear the word and do what the word says. (James 1:22)

I take Jesus’ warning and James’ advise seriously now but for most of my life, I either ignored God’s word or dismissed it because I believed I had a better way.  Flash back thirty years ago when I was in high school, God’s word was taught to me but I often doubted its whole truth.  I chose to listen to different voices as well.

The voices I listened to in high school were: mostly my friends, then family, teachers, coaches, neighbors, and popular music.  As I remembered some of the people who spoke powerfully into my life, I wondered who is speaking into my oldest daughter’s life now that’s she in high school.

This one question pierced my heart and mind: How many voices were speaking into my life then and how many voices are speaking into her life today?

I’m guessing there were around thirty to forty voices speaking into my life during my teen years. Today, I would estimate my daughter hears from more than three hundred voices per day.  She hears the same voices I did plus text messages, Instagrams, Snapchats, Tweets, emails, YouTube, ITunes, Netflix… I can’t even list all the communication she receives, fast and furious, all day long.

This perplexing reality leads me to three more questions:

·       How are all these voices effecting our youth’s development – their attitudes and actions?

·       Is God’s voice being drowned out by all the world’s shouting?

·       How will our youth know they are loved by God and made to love God, themselves and others?

I believe there is a war being fought for our youth today, one we cannot see, a war in the spiritual realm. (Ephesians 6:12) I plan to join the fight.  Will you join me? 

We can pray for the young people we know and for all the youth in our nation.  We can speak God’s truth to them through our words, actions, texts, calls, emails, blogs… And we can love them in tangible ways so God’s love is flowing through us.  Let’s live our love out loud in front of future generations!

Engage With God - Read and Reflect

DAY 20 – Love Out Loud

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. – Ephesians 5:1-2

Daily Reminder: 

Let’s live our love out loud in front of people of all ages.  Let them see us loving God, ourselves, and others deeply and meaningfully.  Let’s be imitators of God’s love and love all the generations alive today.

Real Life Reflection Questions:

1.     List the youth you can pray for today.  Pray for each one of them to know and live in God’s love.

2.     How can you model love to different people you meet today?

QUICK PRAYER –

Lord God,

God you set me in this time, at this age now.  Help me to love people of all ages.  Use my life to influence younger generations to believe in and count on your powerful love.  Drown out all the world’s shouts so I can hear your voice and experience your love fully.    

In Jesus’ Precious Name I Pray, Amen

TODAY’S THOUGHTS – Live Love Out Loud

Personal Bible Study- Read, record, and reflect on these scriptures. Let them seep into your soul.

Psalm 119:97 –

Galatians 5:13-14 -

Romans 8:5-