OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY JULY 21ST 2023
TOPIC: LOVE AND GODLINESS 1
MEMORISE:
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” – (1 John 4:7)
READ: 1 John 4:7-10 (KJV)
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
MESSAGE:
One great proof of godliness is seen in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us in love. He expressly commands us to love, according to John 13:34-35:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
By the rate at which hatred is growing among some self-professing believers, we can ask, "Where is the fulfilment of this commandment?" There could be many reasons for this unpleasant development in the Body of Christ. One is the loss of focus on heaven - where we all aspire to spend eternity. Related to that is the love for this present age. When a person begins to feel jealousy towards another, hatred develops and before long, godliness is thrown to the wind. In our memory verse taken from the main text, John - the Apostle of love, wrote:
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that Ioveth is born of God, and knoweth God. (1 John 4:7)
The above Scripture shows the importance of love among brethren. Beloved, are you living in love? Remember, if you are not living in love, you are in death, according to (1 John 3:14), which says:
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Apostle Paul said in (1 Corinthians 13:4-6):
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.
Be sure to remove hatred from your heart today, if you do not want all your Christian service to be in vain on the last day. There's no godliness without love.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please rekindle Your love in me towards my brethren and let this same love propel me to go out in search of sinners, for their salvation.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: ISAIAH 25-28
AUTHOR PASTOR E A
HYMNAL: 31 - WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE
1. Wonderful story of love!
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love!
Wake the immortal strain.
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, O won't you believe it?
Wonderful story of love!
REFRAIN:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful story,
Wonderful story of love!
2. Wonderful story of love!
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love!
Still He doth call today.
Calling from Calvary's mountain,
Down from the crystal bright fountain,
E'en from the dawn of creation;
Wonderful story of love!
3. Wonderful story of love!
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love!
For all the pure and blest;
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who've gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus;
Wonderful story of love!
Amen and Amen🙏🙌
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