Loving God, Loving Others, Trusting Him.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

We at C28 and NOTW want to thank you for your continued support and prayers. The Lord worked through you to help us make ends meet in December and we are grateful. I will remember 2008 as a great year that brought me to my knees in prayerful humility. Thank you Jesus for showing me your abundant and undeserved grace in our business and family. I want to share with you a few thoughts below that I pray will bless your 2009. A brother in the Lord, Dr. Bob Hughes, wrote a wonderful book and study guide called "Love Focused" which has ministered to me during a most trying time in my life. Please feel free to use this link to order the book and study guide directly from them at http://www.lovefocused.com/order.html or by calling (800) 345-6665. The thoughts below are based on my own personal experience of going through the book "Love Focused" and focusing on Jesus' great commandment found in Matthew 22:37. Jesus said to love God first and love others as ourselves, so we can then ready ourselves to trust God's provisions and wonderful grace in our lives. I trust God can minister to you and to others. :-)

LOVING GOD, LOVING OTHERS, TRUSTING HIM.
Aurelio F. Barreto III, January 2009

GOD'S GREATEST COMMANDMENT God gives us peace and joy when our focus is truly loving God first and loving others second (instead of focusing on our perceived needs). When we obey this great commandment, God takes care of our needs for us. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40 As believers we are good about obeying the "Great Commission " of sharing the gospel and yet Jesus' "Great Commandment" is often overlooked. You see, God did not say "think about yourself, get that now, take care of this, worry about that...", but He did command us to love Him above all, and love others like ourselves. When we obey His "Greatest Commandment" fully, we can then trust Him to provide for our needs according to His abundant grace and perfect will! When we accept God's provisions for us with thanksgiving and praise, we are freed from the cares of this world.

CONTROL We can either love God and love others or we can pursue things which we have no control over. If we trust God with His given provisions for our lives, we can then love others and experience the peace and joy we seek. If we accept God's all sufficient grace, we can then thank God for how things are right now. Can you say 'God is enough and that is OK with me'? "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 The one thing in life we have control over is our ability to love God, to love others and to trust God for His results and outcomes. If we focus and obey God's "Great Commandment" of loving Him and loving others we are then freed to trust God to provide for our needs. When we realize that we don't have control, then we're forced to trust God Who is in control. We can try to exercise control over things and be disappointed time and time again, or we can choose to trust God's goodness and perfect will for our lives. Do you trust Him fully, right now?

WARNING SIGNS! Harmful habits like fear, worry, jealousy, lust, unbelief, guilt, doubt, pride and greed (among other things) are the result of seeking to control and pursue selfish goals and desires. These destructive habits can actually serve as "warning signs" that we are not fully seeking and trusting God. When we admit that we are not in control of this world and realize that God is our creator and actual provider, we are then free to focus on loving God and loving others. This is the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

GOD IS ENOUGH Resting in God is achieved by completely trusting Him to provide whatever outcomes He wants for us and then being at peace about it. Either God is enough for us or He is not. And if God is enough for us, then nothing is a threat. Whatever trial we are experiencing, as hard as it may be, our soul will be at peace. "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:5-7 The key to these verses is knowing the Lord is near!

TRUSTING GOD Are there things in your life that you need to trust and wait on the Lord for right now? To trust in the Lord means to wait and to be patient and patience means long suffering. Can you trust and wait upon a known God to an unknown future? Can you thank the Lord for the way things are at this moment, however things may be? "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3-5

FORGIVING OTHERS When we look at the second part of God's greatest commandment: 'Love your neighbor as yourself', God clearly commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we are required to love others as ourselves, we are also then required to forgive others first, right? "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13 In any relationship forgiveness is required in order to truly love. How can we not forgive others that have wronged us when Jesus has already forgiven us? Was it not our sins that crucified Jesus?

FORGIVING OURSELVES There are two common traits that prevent believers from loving others. First, our pride can result in an unloving attitude towards others. Pride hinders us from loving others because our focus is on ourselves. Jesus came to earth not to serve Himself but to serve others. We should follow His example. Second, guilt and condemnation over our sins keep believers from experiencing the joy of our salvation and from loving others. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 If Jesus has already forgiven us 100% by His atoning sacrifice on the cross, can we then also forgive ourselves? When we consciously forgive ourselves like Jesus has forgiven us, we are then freed and empowered to fully love others without expectations, no matter how many times we have been wronged. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 May the Lord richly bless you as you love Him, love others and trust His sovereign and perfect will!

We encourage you to pass this devotion and share it with others.

You can get "Love Focused" at http://www.lovefocused.com/order.html.