Refreshing

Daily
in Gods Word
Emphasis on

Love

Love immortal, love unchanging,

Countless ages are its own;
God, before all worlds, hath made it,
And its birthplace was His throne.
Love Divine, love Divine.
Oh, ye bright ones above!
Swell the everlasting chorus,
Pr
aising God, for God is love.
In the work of mans redemption,
Love the mighty conquest won;
Precious love that seals our pardon
Through the blood of Christ the Son.
~ Fanny Crosby

Brotherly Love
February 1
Bible Reading: John 13:18-34
Key Verse: Verse 34 - A new commandment I give
unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved
you, that ye also love one another.
Key Words: That ye love one another; as I have

loved you.

Nothing impacts our life like love!

A little six-year-old girl became deathly ill with a
terrible disease. She needed a special blood transfusion,
and her rare blood type further complicated the problem.
The girls nine-year-old brother qualified as a donor, but
everyone was hesitant to ask him since he was so young.
When the prospects of another donor dissolved, they talked
with the boy about it. He didnt understand all of the
dynamics, but he said, Sure, Ill give my blood for my
sister. When the transfusion began, he took the needle in
his arm, closed his eyes and lay silently on the bed. After
the transfusion was completed, the doctors thanked the boy
for saving his sisters life. The brave brother began to
quietly cry. He asked, Doctor, when do I die? The doctor
understood the magnitude of what this boy had done and
quickly reassured him that he would not die. He was
amazed at the boys courage and asked, Why were you
willing to risk your life for her? The boy said, Because
she is my sisterand I love her. Jesus said, Love one
another, even as I have loved you.
Today try genuinely loving others so they can see
Christ through you.

What to do:
Remember it should never be said of us, what
love? But rather what love!!

True Love
February 2
Bible Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-17
Key Verse: Verse 16 My beloved is mine, and I am
his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Key Words: My beloved is mine, and I am his

There is no such thing as the perfect marriage

because we are all imperfect people; but those who
genuinely love each other dont quit when problems arise,
they dont look for ways to get out of a marriage, but ways
to stay in.
You can see them alongside the shuffleboard courts
in Florida or on the porches of the old folks homes up
north: an old man with snow-white hair, a little hard of
hearing, reading the newspaper through a magnifying
glass; an old woman in a shapeless dress, her knuckles
gnarled by arthritis, wearing sandals to ease her aching
arches. They are holding hands, and in a little while they
will totter off to take a nap, and then she will cook supper,
not a very good supper, and they will watch television, each
knowing exactly what the other is thinking, until it is time
for bed. They may even have a good, soul-stirring
argument, just to prove that they still really care. And
through the night they will snore unabashedly, each resting
contently because the other is there.
They are in love, they have always been in love,
although sometimes they would have denied it. And
because they have been in love they have survived
everything that life could throw at them, even their own
failures.

What to do:
Stick it out; it will be worth it in the end if both
husband and wife work at it.

Gods Gift of Love

February 3

Bible Reading: John 3

Key Verse: Verse 16 For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
Key Words: For God so loved the world

We read this verse so often that we often fail to see

Gods love for us. Let me explain it this way.
Gods gift of Christ seems all the more significant
when you consider the vastness of our universe and our
small role in it. If we were to experience a holocaust that
destroyed our entire solar system, the massive inferno
would be barely visible from the Andromeda galaxy. It
would look like a match flaring faintly in the distance, then
imploding into permanent darkness. Within this solar
system which seems so large and incomprehensible to us,
there live only 7 billion people. To put that in further
perspective, all of these people could stand shoulder-toshoulder in an area about the size of Jacksonville, Florida
(800 square miles). From the viewpoint of one galaxy
among many, we are but a small spark of a flickering
match.
Yet, it was for this miniscule speck of humanity that
Jesus Christ wrapped Himself in flesh, so that we could
unwrap the bounty of Gods unlimited grace and love.

What to do:
Remember, you are but a grain of sand on the
shore, but to God you are an important grain of
sand.

Callous
February 4
Bible Reading: Ezekiel 11:13-23
Key Verse: Verse 19 And I will give them one heart,
and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take
the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an
heart of flesh:
Key Words: I will take the stony heart out of their

flesh

Ive seen some hard-hearted believers in my time.

Im sure you have as well. The question is why. Why are so
many believers so hard and cold and callous? Let me
explain it this way.
One of the greatest inventions of all time is softserve ice cream. Where ice cream could be hard and
scooped out using a lot of effort with an ice cream scooper,
somebody figured out a way to make soft-serve ice cream
immediately available with minimal effort.
There is a homemade way to get soft-serve ice cream
too. Take the carton out of the freezer, put it on the kitchen
counter, and let it set out for a while. Simply transfer the
atmosphere of the ice cream and after a bit of time you will
see change. Situating it in the right location will produce
the transformation desired.
The reason why some Christians are so cold, callous,
stingy, unloving, and evil is because they are not hanging
out in the right atmosphere. God will do the work of
transformation if we are in an atmosphere where He is. He
is willing to do the work of change in our hearts and minds
if we will allow Him. Why not allow Him to work in and
through you?
What to do:
He who doesnt change his atmosphere will
never change his attitude.

Loving Your Wife

February 5
Bible Reading: Proverbs 18:13-24
Key Verse: Verse 22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a
good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Key Words: findeth a good thing

Men must be careful to purposefully honor their

wives. If not done purposefully, time and familiarity have a
way of wearing down even the nicest guys.
Its like the guy who married the lady who caught a
cold every year of their marriage. The first year he said,
Sugar, darling, this cold is making you mighty
uncomfortable. Why dont you let your lover boy take his
baby to the doctor to get rid of this nasty cough?
The second year of marriage he said, Darling, that
cold seems to be getting worse. Why dont you go call Dr.
Miller?
The third year of marriage he said, You better lie
down and rest with that cold before the baby wakes up.
During the fourth year of marriage, he told her, Be
sensible now and take care of that cold before it gets any
worse.
By the fifth year of marriage, he would say to her,
Youll be all right, just take some aspirin. By the way, how
about ironing those pants for me to wear today.
Six years into the marriage, the husband would tell
his wife, Would you do something about that cold and stop
barking like a seal?
By the seventh year of marriage he sounded
something like this: Woman, do something about that cold
before you give me pneumonia.
Now, remember to love your wife; and remember,
we are not perfect either.

What to do:
Work on your marriage more than you do your
golf swing.
********************

Response to Love
February 6
Bible Reading: I Peter 3:1-7
Key Verse: Verse 7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell
with them according to knowledge, giving honour
unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers
be not hindered.
Key Words: dwell with them

Maybe you heard the story of a woman who had a

husband who kept a list. This list contained twenty-five
things he wanted her to do in order to be a good wife to
him. Every day he took out the list and he checked off the
things that she completed. Cooking check! Cleaning
check! Care of the kids check! At the end of the day, he
would let her know how she scored twenty-three out of
twenty-five. Twenty-one out of twenty-five, etc. This
woman was miserable. She was miserable because she
didnt marry to be tied to a checklist. Not that the things
she did as a wife werent important. They were important
and they were necessary. But she had higher hopes for her
marriage relationship.
After a number of years, the husband died. The
woman felt a load lifted from her shoulders because she
had been performing for years. She had been doing her
duty and hating every minute, though the duties
themselves were not innately bad.
Two years later, this same woman fell in love with a
new guy a guy who had no lists. He told this woman that
all he wanted to do was to love her. He wanted her to wake
up in the morning knowing that he loved her. In the

middle of the day, he wanted to be able to call and remind

her that he loved her. At night, before they retired, he
wanted to reassure her that he loved her. He wanted his
love to be her every waking thought of her day. He wanted
her to know his love, not his lists.
One day she was cleaning the house. She opened up
a drawer and saw a piece of paper. It was the list from her
first husband. She began to giggle when she realized that
everything written down, all twenty-five duties, were
happening effortlessly in her new marriage. Everything she
had hated doing out of requirement by the first husband,
she was doing for the second husband and loving it! All
the second husband had was love. It brought joy to this
woman, to her home, and all that she did for it. She was
overpowered by love.

What to do:
Remember, there is no power like that of genuine
Godly love.
********************

Someone to Love Me

February 7

Bible Reading: John 3:14-21

Key Verse: Verse 16 For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
Key Words: For God so loved the world

Tony Evans writes: I have seen the movie Beauty

and the Beast three times. My wife took me to see it one
time. I took my granddaughter to see it one time. We saw
it yet again after that. It is the story about one ugly dude.

This beast has a terrible voice and a terrible personality.

Hes a nothing, a nobody. But then there is a beauty, and
you probably know the story. All the beast needed was
somebody to love him. And as the story would have it, as
soon as someone loved him, he wasnt a beast anymore.
There are a lot of people who look like or act like
beasts. They have ugly personalities, or ugly attitudes.
Even after church on any given Sunday, many people will
show how ugly they are as soon as they hit the parking lot.
But it is possible for other folks out there to be like Beauty.
These folks find it possible to run into beasts and change
them for the better through their love.
So which are you? Are you the Beauty or the Beast?

What to do:
Remember, there is a world crying out to be
loved. So be Beauty!! Anyone can be the beast.
********************

Too Busy to Love

February 8

Bible Reading: Revelation 2:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat

against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Key Words: thou hast left thy first love

A father and his young daughter were great friends

and much in each other's company. Then the father noted a
change in his daughter. If he went for a walk, she excused
herself from going. He grieved about it, but could not
understand. When his birthday came, she presented him
with a pair of exquisitely worked slippers, saying,`I have
made them for you.
Then he understood what had been the matter for
the past three months, and he said. `My darling, I like

these slippers very much, but next time buy the slippers
and let me have you all the days. I would rather have my
child than anything she can make for me.
Some of us are so busy for the Lord that He cannot
get much of us. To us He would say, `I know your works,
your labor, your patience, but I miss the first Love.
~G. Campbell Morgan
While it is great to be busy for the Lord, there
should be time in our life for us to be still and know that He
is Lord.

What to do:
Dont be so busy for God that we become too
busy to love Him.
********************

Shoved Out
February 9

Bible Reading: John 13:35-38

Key Verse: Verse 35 By this shall all men know that

ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Key Words: if ye have love one to another

One day I went to see a fellow worker in God's

service -- a dear Christian, but very impulsive. As we talked
together in her hall, I said something to her she did not
like; and she took me by the shoulders and pushed me over
the doorstep, shutting the door in my face! I walked home
feeling very indignant, but as I waited on the Lord for light,
He turned me to John 13:35: `By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another, and
He said, Will you go to her house tomorrow, and show her
love for my sake?

I agreed to do so, and handing over my natural

indignation to death (His death), I went. The result was
unity and peace, instead of division. Then I saw Satan had
tried to separate us, and bring a spirit of bitterness, so as to
hinder our uniting in prayer. Praise God, the victory was a
very real one, through the working power of our union with
Christ in His death.
~ Author Unknown

What to do:
When we give up on others, we fail to love them as
God loves them.
********************

What Christians Are For

February 10

Bible Reading: Luke 4:14-22

Key Verse: Verse 18 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon

me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised,
Key Words: to preach the gospel to the poor

I read the following years ago and it has stuck with

me through the years. I trust it will bless you as much as it
has blessed me.
A Christian woman who was engaged in work
for the poor and degraded was once spoken to by
one who was well acquainted with both the worker
and those whom she sought to reach.
"`It does seem wonderful to me that you can
do such work, her friend said. `You sit beside these

people, and talk with them in a way that I do not

think you would if you knew about them, just what
they are, and from what places they come.
Her answer was, `Well, I suppose they are
dreadful people. But, if the Lord Jesus were now on
earth, are they not the very people He would strive
to teach? Would He feel Himself too good to go
among them? And am I better than my Master?
A poor, illiterate person, who stood listening
to this conversation, said with great earnestness
and simplicity, `Why, I always thought that was
what Christians were for. The objector was
silenced, and what wonder? Is not that what
Christians are for?
~Author Unknown

What to do:
Remember, thats really what we are for: to
reach people including the poor.
********************

Love Your Enemies

February 11

Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-36

Key Verse: Verse 35 But love ye your enemies, and
do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and
your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the
children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the
unthankful and to the evil.
Key Words: love ye your enemies

Its interesting to me that its not love your enemy

but rather love your enemies. I am convinced that when
you love God with all your heart, you will automatically
have enemies: many out of the church, and some maybe

even within the church. But having enemies is inevitable in

Gods service.
In his book, The Grace of Giving, Stephen Olford
tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution
named Peter Miller who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania,
and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington.
In the same town also lived Michael Wittman, an
evil-minded man who did all he could to oppose and
humiliate the pastor whenever he had the chance. One day
Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to
die. Peter Miller traveled seventy miles on foot to
Philadelphia to plead for General George Washington to
spare the life of the traitor.
No, Peter, General Washington said. I cannot
grant you the life of your friend.
My friend? exclaimed the old preacher. Hes the
bitterest enemy I have!
What? cried Washington. Youve walked seventy
miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in
different light. Ill grant your pardon. And he did.
Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back home to
Ephratano longer an enemy but a friend.

What to do:
Its easy to love your friends but it takes real
spiritual maturity to love your enemies. Ask God to
grow you to the place where you can love your
enemies.

Law of Love
Bible Reading: Romans 7:1-7

February 12

Key Verse: Verse 7 What shall we say then? Is the

law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by
the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had
said, Thou shalt not covet.
Key Words: Is the law sin? God forbid.

Now, while we are not saved by keeping the law

(which none of us can do), we certainly understand the
value of the law.
While the law doesnt save me, it lets me know that
Im a sinner and I need a Savior. Then once Im saved, Im
under the law of love.
Dr. Mitchell was impressing upon us that we are
not under the Law when we're in Christ, but we're under a
new law -- the law of LOVE. He used this to illustrate: In
America there is a law stating a woman must take care of
her child. So, a man comes to a new mother's home. He
says "Are you taking care of your baby? The Law says you
have to." The woman, tenderly holding her baby, said, "I
don't need a law to make me take care of my baby." Why?
Because she loves her baby! She feeds him, holds him,
changes him because she loves him. I no longer need the
Law because I'm under Christ -- a law of LOVE.
~ Author Unknown
Today I pray you are under the new law: the Law of
LOVE.

What to do:
Live by the law of love. It will change your life,
and others as well.

Feigned Love
February 13

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 3:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 - And yet for all this her

treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me
with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
Key Words: but feignedly, saith the LORD

The word feign means plastic, artificial, not real.

There was a great illustration of feigned in the Readers
Digest written by Joe Wagner.
I was attending a junior stock show when a grandchampion lamb, owned by a little girl, was being auctioned.
As the bids reached five dollars per pound, the little girl,
standing beside the lamb in the arena, began to cry. At ten
dollars, the tears were streaming down her face and she
clasped her arms tightly around the lamb's neck. The
higher the bids rose, the more she cried. Finally, a local
businessman bought the lamb for more than $1000, but
then announced that he was donating it to the little girl.
The crowd applauded and cheered.
Months later, I was judging some statewide essays
when I came across one from a girl who told about the time
her grand-champion lamb had been auctioned. "The prices
began to get so high during the bidding," she wrote, "that I
started to cry from happiness." She continued with: "The
man who bought the lamb for so much more than I ever
dreamed I would get returned the lamb to me, and when I
got home, Daddy barbecued the lamb -- and it was really
delicious."
Pretty good description of feigned love!!

What to do:
Ask God to let your love be real, not feigned!

Example of Love

February 14

Bible Reading: Psalm 116

Key Verse: Verse 1 - I love the LORD, because he hath

heard my voice and my supplications.

Key Words: I love the LORD

Love always produces action: For God so loved the

world, that he gave. There is action. Joshua 22:5, to
love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways. Love
always produces action.
On May 2, 1962, a dramatic advertisement appeared
in the San Francisco Examiner: "I don't want my husband
to die in the gas chamber for a crime he did not commit. I
will therefore offer my services for 10 years as a cook, maid,
or housekeeper to any leading attorney who will defend
him and bring about his vindication."
One of San Francisco's greatest attorneys, Vincent
Hallinan, read or heard about the ad and contacted Gladys
Kidd, who had placed it. Her husband, Robert Lee Kidd,
was about to be tried for the slaying of an elderly antique
dealer.
Kidd's fingerprints had been found on a
bloodstained ornate sword in the victim's shop. During the
trial, Hallinan proved that the antique dealer had not been
killed by the sword, and that Kidd's fingerprints and blood
on the sword got there because Kidd had once toyed with it
while playfully dueling with a friend when they were both
out shopping. The jury, after 11 hours, found Kidd to be
not guilty. Attorney Hallinan refused Gladys Kidd's offer of
10 years' servitude.

What to do:
Remember, we know who and what we love by
our actions.

Sacrificial Love
February 15

Bible Reading: Song of Solomon 8:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 7 - Many waters cannot quench

love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would

give all the substance of his house for love, it would
utterly be contemned.
Key Words: Many waters cannot quench love

Love is an unusual thing. It will cause you to do

things and act in ways you never thought would be
humanly possible.
For example, William Gladstone, in announcing the
death of Princess Alice to the House of Commons, told a
touching story. The little daughter of the Princess was
seriously ill with diphtheria. The doctors told the princess
not to kiss her little daughter and endanger her life by
breathing the child's breath. Once when the child was
struggling to breathe, the mother, forgetting herself
entirely, took the little one into her arms to keep her from
choking to death. Rasping and struggling for her life, the
child said, "Momma, kiss me!" Without thinking of herself
the mother tenderly kissed her daughter.
She got
diphtheria and some days thereafter she went to be forever
with the Lord. Real love forgets self. Real love knows no
danger. Real love doesn't count the cost. The Bible says,
"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods
drown it."
Love does many a splendored thing.

What to do:
Never forget Gods love for you in sending Jesus
to die, be buried and raised again. That was the
greatest gift of love.

Love of Money
February 16

Bible Reading: I Timothy 6:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 For the love of money is the

root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.
Key Words: For the love of money

Many people think money is security, but I Timothy

6:9 warns that it can be just the opposite. A few years ago,
columnist Jim Bishop reported what happened to people
who won the state lottery:
Rosa Grayson of Washington won $400 a week for
life. She hides in her apartment. For the first time in her
life, she has "nerves." Everyone tries to put the touch on
her. "People are so mean," she said. "I hope you win the
lottery and see what happens to you."
When the McGugarts of New York won the Irish
Sweepstakes, they were happy. Pop was a steamfitter.
Johnny, twenty-six, loaded crates on docks. Tim was going
to night school. Pop split the million with his sons. They
all said the money wouldn't change their plans. A year
later, the million wasn't gone; it was bent. The boys
weren't speaking to Pop, or each other. Johnny was chasing
expensive race horses; Tim was catching up with expensive
girls. Mom accused Pop of hiding his poke from her.
Within two years, all of them were in court for nonpayment
of income taxes. "It's the Devil's own money," Mom said.
Both boys were studying hard to become alcoholics.
All these people hoped and prayed for sudden
wealth. All had their prayers answered. All were wrecked
on a dollar sign.

What to do:
The love and craving to be rich isnt security,
but rather its sensual and devilish. We would all do
well to remember this warning from God.

********************

Love Is Unafraid
February 17

Bible Reading: I John 4:10-21

Key Verse: Verse 18 - There is no fear in love; but

perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love .
Key Words: perfect love casteth out fear

Soon after his marriage, the famous nineteenth

century Irish poet and composer Thomas Moore was called
away on business. On his return, he was met not by his
beautiful bride, but their family doctor. Your wife is
upstairs. But she has asked you not to come up. She has
smallpox. The disease has left her once flawless skin
pocked and scarred. She has drawn the shutters, and asked
that you never see her again.
Thomas Moore would not listen, but bounded up
the steps to his wifes room. It was black as night inside.
He reached for the gas jets. No! Dont light the lamps,
screamed his bride. Go. Please go. This is the greatest gift
I can give you, now.
Instead of leaving, he spent most of the night
writing a love poem, which he then set to music. The next
morning, in her darkened bedroom, he sang:
Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly today,
Were to change by tomorrow, and flee in my arms,
Like fairy gifts fading away.
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

The song ended. His bride rose to her feet, crossed

the room, and slowly drew open the shutters. Love was
unafraid of the light of reality.

What to do:
Remember, perfect love casteth out fear, its not
about Gods love for us; its about our love for
Him.
********************

A Miracle of Love
February 18

Bible Reading: Genesis 50:15-21

Key Verse: Verse 20 - But as for you, ye thought evil
against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to
pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Key Words: but God meant it unto good

In her book Heaven in My Hand, first grade teacher

Alice Lee Humphreys describes some of her classroom
experiences. One delightful story concerns Roberta, whose
father was in the Navy during World War II. Each time he
was on leave, he would make it a point to bring her to
school his last day at home. One particular morning he
rode her to school piggyback, then paused to say good-bye.
Apologizing that he had a cold, he kissed her lightly
on her dimpled cheek instead of her lips. Roberta was
disappointed. Then she performed a miracle. With her
thumb and forefinger, she reached up and caught the
kiss. Then with a pretty air of triumph, she placed in
squarely on her mouth.
With abandon, children often remake the realities of
life with their creative imaginations. But should this
mystery be lost to adults? E.g., who says you cant see the
sun on a rainy day?

Joseph, sold into Egyptian slavery by his jealous

brothers, refused to take revenge in later years when they
came to Egypt to buy corn from the Pharoahs granaries.
So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God is the
way Joseph explained it. Ye thought evil against me; but
God meant it unto good (Genesis 45:8 and 50:20).
Joseph took the sting of slavery and changed it to a
miracle of love, and that is what God intended for us to do:
perform a miracle of love.

What to do:
Shock those who have hurt you by loving them.
********************

Useless Without You

February 19

Bible Reading: Genesis 2:18-25

Key Verse: Verses 18 - And the LORD God said, It is

not good that the man should be alone; I will make
him an help meet for him.
Key Words: help meet for him

We read in Genesis 2:18, It is not good that man

should be alone. The truth is we husbands and wives need
each other.
F. Alexander Magoun says, Love is the passionate
and abiding desire on the part of two or more people to
produce together an emotional climate in which each can
flourish, far superior to what either could achieve alone.
And John Levy notes that an enduring marriage has
one requirement: two people who are ready to sink
themselves in the creation of a new unit bigger than either
of them.

So use this test on your marriage: Am I helping my

husband or wife to become what she or he otherwise could
never achieve alone?
This idea shines through in Rudolph Beisers play
about Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, The
Barretts of Wimpole Street. Elizabeth, an invalid, felt
unworthy of Roberts love. In reply he said, Elizabeth, my
strength needs your weakness just as much as your
weakness needs my strength.
And Henry Wadsworth Longfellow echoes the same
beautiful sentiments in The Song of Hiawatha,
As unto the bow the cord is,
So unto the man is woman;
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows;
Useless each without the other.

What to do:
God brought this person we call our spouse to us
because we need them. Today thank God for them.

Jesus Loved Him

Bible Reading: Mark 10:17-27

February 20

Key Verse: Verse 21 Then Jesus beholding him

loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest:
go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the

poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and

come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Key Words: Then Jesus beholding him loved him

Ive always marveled at this verse, in particular the

statement then Jesus beholding him loved him. Even
though the rich young man had chosen possessions over
Jesus, He still loved him.
The great Swiss theologian Karl Barth was meeting
with a group of educators in Charlotte, North Carolina.
One of the smart young professors at this meeting spoke
up: Dr. Barth, you have written many books on Christian
theology. I would like to ask you, Can you put the chief
message of Christianity in one sentence?
Barth replied: Yes, I have written many books on
theology. But I can give you Christianitys answer in one
sentence. This sentence is from an old song my mother
used to sing to me in Switzerland when I was a child:
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
And so He does! He loves me and He loves you as
well.

What to do:
Remember that Jesus loves you. He made you.
He loves you. He may not love all the choices we
make, but He loves us.

Touching Story
Bible Reading: II Corinthians 5:11-21

February 21

Key Verse: Verse 18 - And all things are of God, who

hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Key Words: and hath given to us the ministry of

reconciliation
There is no doubt that true love involves
reconciliation (becoming friends again) because we all have
our rifts with others; yes, even those we love dearly.
One of the most touching stories Ive ever read
involved the subject of reconciliation.
The Spanish have a story about a father and son
who became estranged. The son left home, and the father
later set out to find him. He searched for months with no
success. Finally, in desperation, the father turned to the
newspaper for help. His ad simply read, "Dear Paco, meet
me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday.
All is forgiven. I love you. Your father." On Saturday, eight
hundred young men named Paco showed up looking for
forgiveness and love from their estranged fathers. The
world is filled with people who desperately long for
reconciliation with each other, and with God.
Many people are looking to be loved today. A
daughter is looking to be loved by her father, a wife by her
husband, a husband by his children, and so it goes. You
cant make people love you, but you can love them!!

What to do:
Love others: we do reap
what we sow.

Taking Love for Granted

February 22

Bible Reading: Proverbs 20:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 11 Even a child is known by his
doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be
right.

Key Words: known by his doings

Let me ask you: Do you take Gods love for granted?

Do we take Gods love for granted? So often I am afraid we
do.
A mother, in one of those delicious moments that
make mothers what they are, drew her two-year-old
daughter to her and said, Oh, I love you! The little girl,
very much occupied with the whim of the moment, drew
away and said, Yes, I know. Love was taken for granted.
As early in life as the second year the Word was
being illustrated: Even a child is known by his doings,
whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. (Prov.
20:11). Tragedy occurs when someone hears the voice of
God saying, as He does from Calvary, and as He does from
a thousand circumstances of life, My child, I love you,
and is answered with Yes, I knowan indifference that
shows that His love is not really returned. Most of lifes
sadness flows from such an attitude. The windows of
heaven are opened when we can learn to feel deeply: We
love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

What to do:
Dont take Gods love for granted.

Renting Love
February 23

Bible Reading: John 4:1-26

Key Verse: Verse 18 - For thou hast had five

husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy
husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Key Words: For thou hast had five husbands

While we focus on the Samaritan woman and water,

as well we should, there is one point we often overlook.
This lady desired to be loved.
So it is with many people and families today, the
longing to be appreciated and loved.
In Japan, you can rent a family. Elderly Japanese
who are isolated from their children by the frantic pace of
modern life can rent a family for lunch and a few hours.
Just call Nippon Kokasei Honbu (Japan Effectiveness
Headquarters) and ask for a son, daughter, grandchild,
whatever relative you want, and that type will show up at
your door and greet you as if they haven't seen you in years.
Of course the service isn't cheap: three hours with your
family cost $1,130, plus transportation.
Satsuki Ohiwa founded the business in 1990 when,
as a businesswoman, she was too busy to visit her mother.
Company staff visited her instead, and Ohiwa deemed it a
success. Ohiwa's observation of her customers is not
surprising. She said, What is common about our clients is
that they are thirsty for human love.
Arent you glad God didnt call this service when we
needed a Savior? Love cant be marketed, only
unconditionally given.
What to do:
Know God loves you. Let your family know you
love them.

Love Is Blind
February 24

Bible Reading: Jude

Key Verse: Verse 24 - Now unto him that is able to

keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Key Words: to keep you from falling

Have you ever heard the saying, Love is blind?

Well, not only is it blind, it causes brain freeze as well. It
just seems that when a person falls in love, their brain goes
dead, freezes and/or gets stuck in neutral. As a result, the
person in love can really do and believe some strange
things. Let me explain.
As the daughter brought in her date to meet her
parents, such expressions of shock could be seen on their
face. Mother and dad were terrified to see the young man
covered in tattoos, long dirty hair, a dirty beard, earrings,
heavy bootsjust an overall rough appearance. In concern,
the mother her daughter aside and asked, Honey, is he
nice? The daughter was taken aback by the question from
her mother. Sure, hes nice! she said. Why would he be
doing 500 hours of community service if he wasnt nice?
Call it what you want: blindness, naivet, brain
freeze, or just being brain dead; love can cause people to do
and see some strange things.
The answer you ask? Jude 21, 24, Keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life. Now unto him that is able to keep
you from falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

What to do:
Keep yourselves in love with Christ.

A Tribute of Love

Bible Reading: John 17

February 25

Key Verse: Verse 26 - And I have declared unto them

thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Key Words: thou hast loved me

John 17 is the Lords prayer before his trial and

crucifixion. In his prayer we see Jesus love for His
disciples and His Father. In this prayer in verses 25 and
26, we read His tribute to God, His Father.
I came across the following which is a touching
tribute to one who is loved.
I love you not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you.
I love you not only for what you have
made of yourself, but for what you are
making of me.
I love you for passing over all the
foolish, weak things that you cant help
dimly seeing in my heart, and for
drawing out into the light all the
beautiful belongings that no one else
had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me
to make of the lumber of my life, not a
tavern but a temple and out of the
works of my every day, not a reproach
but a song.
I love you because you have done more
than any creed could have done to
make me happy.
You have done it without a touch,
without a word, without a song.
You have done it by just being Yourself.

What to do:
Be real!! Love others!!
********************

Herein Is Love
February 26

Bible Reading: I John 4:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 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..
Key Words: not that we loved God, but that he

loved us

A gentleman who was a professed Christian was

taken seriously ill. He became troubled about the little love
he felt in his heart for God, and spoke of his experience to a
friend. This is how the friend answered him.
When I go home from here, I expect to take my
baby on my knee, look into her sweet eyes, listen to her
charming prattle, and tired as I am, her presence will rest
me; for I love that child with unutterable tenderness. But
she loves me little. If my heart were breaking it would not
disturb her sleep. If my body were racked with pain, it
would not interrupt her play. If I were dead, she would
forget me in a few days. Besides this, she had never
brought me a penny, but was a constant expense to me. I
am not rich, but there is not money enough in the world to
buy my baby. How is it? Does she love me, or do I love
her? Do I withhold my love until I know she loves me? Am
I waiting for her to do something worthy of my love before
extending it?
This practical illustration of the love of God for His
children caused the tears to roll down the sick mans face.
Oh, I see, he exclaimed, it is not my love to God, but
Gods love for me, that I should be thinking of. And I do
love Him now as I never loved Him before.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He
loved us (I John 4:10).

What to do:

Think today on Gods love for you and make a list

of how God has displayed His love for you.
********************

The Moth and The Lion

February 27

Bible Reading: Hosea 5

Key Verse: Verse 12 - Therefore will I be unto

Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as
rottenness.
Key Words: will I be unto Ephraim as a moth

Hosea 5:12 is a beautiful picture of Gods love and

how He is for us even in the hard things which He must
bring into our lives.
Some little insect comes into life and nests among
the things we value. Suddenly we realize that corruption is
there. God means this for a sign that will cause us to turn
to Him immediately. If we accept the work of the moth and
return to God, He will restore to us all that He has taken
away.
But suppose men do not turn to God when He sends
His insect-troubles? Two verses later He gives another
word which is more terrible: I will be unto Ephraim as a
lion (5:14). This is the progress of Gods love. He will
not let us lose ourselves without exhausting all of the
resources of His love. The moth may have eaten valuable
possessions, but we can turn the rug around, we can put
the couch against a wall where the ravages cannot be seen,
we can move a lamp so that the light will not shine upon
the destruction. Then He is forced to send the lion. With
no warning at all, great trouble springs upon us like a beast
of prey. Fear grips us. Our blood runs cold. Happy are we,
if we realize that this is the Lord of love, Who calls us to
turn from the path where lions lurk and to run to the path
of His will where no enemy can assail us.

Thousands of people, however, have had the moth

and the lion and have not been moved by them. God is
forced to hide His face from them. They are left, perhaps in
unconcern, perhaps in restless and uneasy worry, but in all,
God is being good to them, showing Himself for them by
holding the door of salvation open, and calling them to
Himself.

What to do:
Its always good to know that whom the Lord
loveth, He chasteneth.
********************

A Jealous Love
February 28

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 4:14-24

Key Verse: Verse 24 - For the LORD thy God is a

consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Key Words: even a jealous God

A father and a mother love their son and want the
very best for him. They hope he will find a girl outstanding
in character and attainments, and that this girl will make
him a good wife. They watch him pay attention to two girls,
each of whom is seeking to capture the son for herself. The
two girls may be jealous of each other in the modern sense
of unpleasant fear and resentment, but the parents are
jealous of their son in the Bible sense of the word. They are
not jealous of him, nor are they jealous of either of the
girls. They have a feeling of great love and desire for their
son; they wish to protect him from any unworthy choice;
they wish only that he will turn to that which will be best
for him.
God has jealousy for us; He loves us so much that
He does not wish us to waste our powers and our affections

on the trivial and tawdry. Gods whole purpose in the

processes of life is to undeceive us, to turn us from hope or
trust in ourselves and turn us back to all hope and trust in
Himself.
What to do:
Sing praises unto God. Isnt He wonderful,
wonderful, wonderful!!

Nothing binds me to my
Lord like a strong belief in His
changeless love.~ Charles Spurgeon

 Love is the sum of all virtue, and

love disposes us to good. ~
Jonathan Edwards

God does not change us in order

to love us. He loves us in order
to change us. ~ Adrian Rogers
If we have got the true love of
God shed abroad in our hearts,
we will show it in our lives. We
will not have to go up and down
the earth proclaiming it. We will
show it in everything we say or
do. ~ D.L. Moody
Joy is love exalted; peace is love
in repose; long-suffering is love
enduring; gentleness is love in
society; goodness is love in
action; faith is love on the
battlefield; meekness is love in
school; and temperance is love
in training. ~ D.L Moody

 Whenever we cannot love in

the old, human way, Corrie, God
can give us the perfect way.
~ Corrie ten
Boom, The Hiding Place

Love worketh no ill to his

neighbor: therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law ~ Romans 13:10

I deeply appreciate the

help of
Mary Parsons
Glenda Myrick
And my lovely wife, Linda

Without God using these

people to help, this
devotional would not
have been possible.
Dr. Mike Rouse

is a ministry of

5568 Chalkville Mountain Road

Birmingham, AL. 35235
(205) 854-2741
www.mountainviewbaptist.org