Open Heaven Daily Devotional For October 6, 2019 : TOPIC – OVERFLOWING LOVE
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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SUNDAY 6TH OCTOBER 2019
THEME: OVERFLOWING LOVE
MEMORISE:
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
READ: Luke 6:27-36
6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
6:32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
6:33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
6:35 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.
6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
MESSAGE
When you consider the reason why God overthrew the world by the flood, you will realise that it is His overflowing love that has preserved our world till now. If God were to apply to our world the same standard He applied to Sodom and Gomorrah, it would have been totally destroyed by now. Instead of judging the world, God’s overflowing love has provided a means of escape from His judgement to all those who are willing to accept it. John 3:16 says:
“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.”
This is the kind of love that God expects us to manifest towards other human beings, most especially those in the household of faith (1 John 3:15-16).
In today’s Bible reading, God commands us to show overflowing love not only to our loved ones but even to our enemies (Luke 6:27-28). According to Romans 13:10, love is the fulfilling of the law. Our Lord Himself established this truth when a young lawyer came to cross-examine Him on which commandment of the law is the greatest (Matthew 22:35-40). Jesus answered him by simply summarising the whole of the law this way: love for God and love for our neighbours. In Matthew 22:40, He emphatically said:
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Beloved, are you really godly? Remember that only the godly will make it to heaven. The character of those who are godly is love: God’s own type of love which overflows. For our love to overflow like His, we must love even those who despitefully use us. In Matthew 5:45, our Lord says:
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
This appropriately describes what God’s overflowing love looks like. For our preaching to be effective to sinners who don’t know the real meaning of love, we must convey our message practically through a life of overflowing love. Let us give heed to the Holy Spirit’s message to us in 1 John 3:18, which says:
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Are you demonstrating love in deed and in truth?
ACTION POINT:
Where is the love of God in you when your brother is in need and you close your eyes of compassion to him? Think about this and repent.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Chronicles 13-15, Revelation 2:1-17
1 Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Chorus:
O deeper yet, I pray,
And higher ev’ry day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
2 Deeper, deeper! blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.