DAILY DEVOTIONS
–With Pastor Harmon–
Monday—March 1, 2021
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion from Portals of Prayer is based on 1 John 4:16 – “So we have come to know and to believe that love that God has for us. God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
That begs the question: “How did we come to know the love that God has for us?” Was it from the examples of love that we observed in others? Is that knowledge based on feelings? If so, then can we assume that those who don’t have those feelings of being loved or the examples of seen in others can’t possibly know they are loved by God?
The devil would like us to think so. Feelings are wonderful things, but they are fickle. They are fleeting and too often influenced by our interaction with others. If I am treated poorly or ignored by others consistently, then it is hard to feel loved. And because we live in a world that is broken – that is populated with broken and flawed people – we often find ourselves in those places where feeling loved is almost impossible.
While our feelings are often all over the place, the Word of God is steadfast and sure. It never changes. If God, in His Word and the testimony of Jesus, tells us that we are loved, then we can take that to the bank (even when we don’t feel loved). God demonstrates His love toward us in that He sent His Son to die the death that our sin deserves and demands. The cross shouts to us that we are loved both in times of sorrow and of joy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s devotion from Portals of Prayer is based on 1 John 4:16 – “So we have come to know and to believe that love that God has for us. God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
That begs the question: “How did we come to know the love that God has for us?” Was it from the examples of love that we observed in others? Is that knowledge based on feelings? If so, then can we assume that those who don’t have those feelings of being loved or the examples of seen in others can’t possibly know they are loved by God?
The devil would like us to think so. Feelings are wonderful things, but they are fickle. They are fleeting and too often influenced by our interaction with others. If I am treated poorly or ignored by others consistently, then it is hard to feel loved. And because we live in a world that is broken – that is populated with broken and flawed people – we often find ourselves in those places where feeling loved is almost impossible.
While our feelings are often all over the place, the Word of God is steadfast and sure. It never changes. If God, in His Word and the testimony of Jesus, tells us that we are loved, then we can take that to the bank (even when we don’t feel loved). God demonstrates His love toward us in that He sent His Son to die the death that our sin deserves and demands. The cross shouts to us that we are loved both in times of sorrow and of joy.