Stephen and Alex Kendrick
LOVE is GOD's WORD
Day 317
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. - Psalm 119:105
Day 318
For some people, the Bible seems just too big to understand. But as a Christian, you're not left alone to try grasping the major themes and deep meanings of the Bible. "For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). And because of His internal lamp, the Scriptures are now yours to read, absorb, comprehend, and live by.
Day 319
Read a portion of the Bible every day. Ideally, read it together as husband and wife - in the morning, perhaps, or before bed. Be like the writer of Psalm 119, who could say, "With all my heart I have sought You. . . . Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You" (Psalm 119:10-11).
Day 320
Those who practice a consistent pattern of reading the Bible soon discover it to be "more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:10).
Day 321
The Bible can be deep and challenging. That's why it's so important to be part of a church where the Word is faithfully taught and preached. By hearing it explained in sermons and Bible study classes, you'll get a broader, more balanced view of what God is saying through His Word. You'll also get to join with others who are on the same journey you are.
Day 322
The Bible is a living book. It lives because the Holy Spirit still resonates within its words. It lives because, unlike the ancient writings of other religions, its Author is still alive.
Day 323
Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers. - James 1:22
Day 324
Jesus said, "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock" (Matthew 7:24-25). When your home is founded on the rock of God's unchanging Word, it is insured against destruction.
Day 325
God has the right plan for everything, and He's revealed these plans in His Word. They're right there for anyone who will read it and apply it.
Day 326
If being a regular Bible reader is new for you, you'll be surprised how quickly you'll begin thinking differently and more eternally. And if you are serious about establishing strategies for life based on God's way of doing things, He will guide you to make connections between what you're reading and how it applies. It's an enlightening journey with discoveries to be made all the time.
Day 327
Every aspect of your life that you submit to God's principles will grow stronger and more long-lasting over time. Any part you withhold from God, choosing instead to try your own hand at it, will weaken and eventually fail when the storms of life hit you.
Day 328
Wise couples build their houses on the rock of God's Word. "Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction." (Romans 15:4)
LOVE AGREES IN PRAYER
Day 329
If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father. - Matthew 18:19
Day 330
If someone told you that by changing one thing about your marriage, you could guarantee with near 100 percent assurance that your life together would significantly improve, you would at least want to know what it was. And for many godly couples, that "one thing" is the daily practice of praying together.
Day 331
The unity that grows between a man and woman who regularly pray together forms an intense and powerful connection. Within the sanctuary of your marriage, praying together can work wonders on every level of your relationship.
Day 332
When you were joined together as husband and wife, God gave you a wedding gift - a permanent prayer partner for life. When you need wisdom on a certain decision, you and your prayer partner can seek God together for the answer.
Day 333
When you and your spouse are not getting along and can't get past a particular argument or sticking point, you can call a time out, drop your weapons, and go with your partner into emergency prayer. It should become your automatic reflex action when you don't know what else to do.
Day 334
It's hard to stay angry long with someone for whom you're praying. It's hard not to back down when you're hearing your mate humbly cry out to God and beg Him for mercy in the midst of your heated crisis. In prayer, two people remember that God has made them one. And in the grip of His uniting presence, disharmony blends into beauty.
Day 335
Praying for your spouse leads your heart to care more deeply about them. But more importantly, God is pleased when He sees you both humbling yourselves and seeking His face together. His blessing falls on you when you agree in prayer.
Day 336
The word Jesus used when He talked about "agreeing" in prayer has the idea of a harmonic symphony. It pulls you both back toward your real center. It places you on common ground, face-to-face before the Father. It restores harmony in the midst of contention.
Day 337
Prayer is a privilege to be enjoyed on a consistent, daily basis. When you know that prayer time awaits you before going to bed, it will change the way you spend your evening. Even if your prayers together are typically short and to the point, this will become a standing appointment that you can orbit your day around, keeping God in the middle of everything.
Day 338
In the morning my prayer comes before You. - Psalm 88:13
LOVE FULFILLS DREAMS
Day 339
Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4
Day 340
Love sometimes needs to be extravagant. To go all out. It sometimes needs to set aside the technicalities and just bless because it wants to.
Day 341
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). He's your model. He's the One your love is designed to imitate. Though you weren't a likely candidate for His love, He gave it anyway. He paid the price.
Day 342
Dreams and desires come in all shapes and sizes. But love takes careful notice of each one.
Day 343
Love calls you to listen to what your mate is saying and hoping for.
Day 344
Love calls you to remember the things that are unique to your relationship, the pleasures and enjoyments that bring a smile to the other's face.
Day 345
Love calls you to give when it would be a lot more convenient to wait.
LOVE ENDURES
Day 346
Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:8
Day 347
Of all the things love dares to do, this is the ultimate. Though threatened, it keeps pursuing. Though challenged, it keeps moving forward. Though mistreated and rejected, it refuses to give up. Love never fails.
Day 348
Love that is from God is unending, unstoppable. If the object of its affection doesn't choose to receive it, love keeps giving anyway. Love never fails. Never.
Day 349
Of the nine "fruits of the Spirit" listed in Galatians 5, the first of all is love. And because the unchanging Holy Spirit is its source- the same Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of all believers - then the love He creates in you is unchanging as well. It is based on the will of God, the calling of God, and the Word of God - all unchanging things. The Bible declares them "irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).
Day 350
Build your marriage on the Word of God. That's because when all else fails, the truth of God will still be standing.
LOVE IS A COVENANT
Day 351
Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. - Ruth 1:16
Day 352
The experience and challenge of loving your mate is something that never comes to an end. It goes on for the rest of your life.
Day 353
Seeing marriage as a contract is like saying to your spouse, "I take you for me and we'll see if this works out." But realizing it as a covenant changes it to say, "I give myself to you and commit to this marriage for life."
Day 354
A contract is usually a written agreement based on distrust, outlining the conditions and consequences if broken. A covenant is a verbal commitment based on trust, assuring someone that your promise is unconditional and good for life. It is spoken before God out of love for another.
Day 355
A contract is self-serving and comes with limited liability. It establishes a time frame for certain deliverables to be met and accomplished. A covenant is for the benefit of others and comes with unlimited responsibility. It has no expiration date. It is "till death do us part."
Day 356
A contract can be broken with mutual consent. A covenant is intended to be unbreakable.
Day 357
Marriage is the strongest covenant on earth between two people, the pledge of a man and woman to establish a love that is unconditional and lasts a lifetime. In marriage, your wedding ring represents your covenant vows - not merely commitments you hoped to keep but premeditated promises, publicly spoken and witnessed by others.
Day 358
There's nothing in all the world that should sever what God has joined together. Your love is based on covenant.
Day 359
Every marriage is called to be an earthly picture of God's heavenly covenant with His church. It is to reveal to the world the glory and beauty of God's unconditional love for us. Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love" (John 15:9 NIV). Let His words inspire you to be a channel of God's love to your spouse.
Day 360
Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. Fasten your love afresh on this one the Lord has given you to cherish, prize, and honor. Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.
Day 361
Your heart is the most important part of who you are. It is the center of your being, where the "real you" resides. "The heart of man reflects man" (Proverbs 27:19). As a person "thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
LEADING YOUR HEART
Day 362
Following your heart usually means chasing after whatever feels right at the moment whether or not it actually is right. It means throwing caution and conscience to the wind and pursuing your latest whims and desires regardless of what good logic and counsel are saying. The Bible says, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26).
Day 363
You can give undeserved love to your spouse because God gave undeserved love to you - repeatedly, enduringly. Love is often expressed the most to those who deserve it the least.
Day 364
Because our hearts are so subject to change and so utterly untrustworthy, the Scriptures communicate a much stronger message than "follow your heart." The Bible instructs you to lead your heart. This means to take full responsibility for its condition and direction. Realize that you do have control over where your heart is. You have been given the power by God to take your heart off one thing and to set it on something else.
Day 365
Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.
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