Thursday, October 22, 2009

Day 20: 345 days left…95 books to go!

The Love Dare  Love is impossible
  •  Real love is something only God can do...therefore the only way you can learn to really love somebody is by first having a relationship with God and secondly, getting to know Him, asking Him to show you how to love like He does....the world's definition of love is not enough....no wonder so many relationships end in divorce & failure...we can't love on our own...we don't know how...."That's why if you're not right with God, you can't truly love your spouse because He is the source of that love."
  •  "The truth is, you can't live without Him and you can't love without Him."  Him being God....
  • Today's challenge was to search my heart & ask God whether I am in right relationship with Him....to say the least, it was intense....
Love is Jesus Christ
  • "One will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:7-8  I'm not sure that I will ever fully comprehend what it means that He did that....
  • Prepare yourself for a very strong statement...I do not believe that in order to "be saved", you have to pray a prayer....I do not believe that you ever have to "ask Jesus into your heart"....I'm not aware of any phrasing in the Bible that asks us to do that...what I do believe is the need for a verbal confession of some kind & a belief in the heart...."If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."  Romans 10:  9-10  
  • I needed the reminder at the end of this chapter to love one another too...and that part of knowing God is loving other people...I can't actually claim to truly know God if I don't bring myself to love His people...and I can't choose to simply love those who love me...because even the demons do that.....harsh, but true & I needed to hear it today in particular!
Love is satisfied in God
  • At this point in "The Love Dare"..."You came face to face with the glaring need of every human heart."  If only I remembered to treat every person I encounter with that reality....that they need God....I wonder that I would treat people with more compassion & kindness...
  • Today's lesson:  "...you need God every single day...He alone can satisfy even when all else fails you."   I have actually been discussing this very point lately with my husband & roommate...the concept of whether or not we should commit to reading our Bibles & praying every day....I don't believe there's any quota, or condemnation if we...miss a day....!  But I do see that when I don't spend time in my day focusing on God, investing in that relationship....we do fall apart....I start thinking the way the world thinks....it's like any friendship....I make a point of spending time with Jay every day....why not God?  It's one of those neverending debates....
  • Today's dare is to try to spend time with God purposefully every day....and thankfully, that has been part of this whole challenge....although I've already missed a few days here & there....I'm trying....!
***Exciting realization.....I am officially half-way done this book!  It's been fortifying so far, but challenging.....and I know I will feel blessed when I've completed it entirely.....

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