Tag: love

devotion

a study on love

Fylvia

Key Text: 1 Corinthians 13:13

Goals:

1. Know: That God is love and that Jesus is the greatest expression of that love

2. Feel: The difference between human love and God’s all-encompassing love.

3. Do: Allow God’s love to manifest itself in our lives through Christ.

Lesson Outline:

I. Needing Love (Genesis 1:26)

A. The Message Bible translates this verse as “Let us make human beings…reflecting our nature.” Because we reflect God’s nature and God is love, we should reflect that love through our actions. How can we do this in our lives?

B. As humans, we all have the need to love and be loved. How is God’s love different than the love of others? Can you replace one with the other?

II. Experiencing Love (1 John 3)

A. God’s extraordinary love is highlighted throughout scripture. Creation, the gift of the Sabbath, the plan of salvation, and the spirit of prophecy all affirm God’s loving nature. Share specific ways you have experienced God’s unfathomable love?

B. The gift of eternal life is the ultimate demonstration of love. What are other examples of God’s love?

III. Reflecting Love (Matthew 22:35-40)

A. Our reaction to the love of God should be love for one another. This can be hard to do in a world full of sin. How can you better reflect His love?

Summary:

God is love. By allowing Christ to abide within us, this love will be evidenced in our lives.

Personal Ramblings

the tiffany

Fylvia

Written some time in the summer of 2008

I spent part of the long weekend antiquing with Roy. We were shopping for the perfect end table: We walked down each aisle, stopping to look at stuff that interested us. And every once in a while, I’d let out a wow or an ooh to express my delight.

The more impressive the antique, the louder my wow’s and ooh’s were.  So when I saw the Tiffany lamp, my WOW startled the quiet, elderly couple with whom we shared the aisle. The perfect shades of browns and greens, with a hint of the palest blue were just right for my living room. But since we were there for an end table and not a lamp, I pulled myself together and moved on. Two hours and two sore feet later, we had not found the perfect end table. So we left without a purchase, but feeling good about the quality time we spent together.

The rest of the day was the usual, filled with chores at home, me buried in boxes and cobwebs in the garage. That is, everything was the usual until I went back in the house and saw the Tiffany lamp sitting pretty in my living room!

A gift given for no particular occasion or reason except to say you are loved and special . . . that’s the best kind of gift.

Personal Ramblings

painted veil

Fylvia
Last night was one of those I-don’t-want-to-do-anything-but-vegetate evenings. So I watched The Painted Veil. I watch movies for therapeutic needs–to laugh and relax. This one didn’t do either but I loved it.
The wow moment in the movie for me was Sister St. Joseph’s soliloquy: Duty is only washing your hands when they are dirty. I fell in love when I was 17—with God. A foolish girl with romantic notions about the life of a religious. But my love was passionate.  Over the years my feelings have changed. He has disappointed me, ignored me. We’ve settled into a relationship of peaceful indifference–the old husband and wife who sit side by side on the sofa but rarely speak. He knows that I will never leave him; this is my duty. But when love and duty are one, then grace is within you.
Personal Ramblings

my precious Tara

Fylvia
I think of her every day. Every single day. It was she who taught me to love better.
Till Tara came along, my circle of love was intense but restricted–to my immediate family. Everyone else received supportive and honest, yet restrained affection. I was the kind who had difficulty holding my own baby in a dirty diaper let alone a stranger’s.
And then came Tara: Abandoned at the hospital and cared for by Erik and May-Louise, short-term volunteers. When they left, there was no one to take car of her and the Holy Spirit gave me no peace until I picked her up and took her home.
She came into my arms and taught me how to love better. Today she is in Australia with her new family; but she’ll always be part of mine too.