Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 215- 1 John 4:19-21 – He First Loved Us – Growing As Disciples

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21 (NIV) 

Your Love 

Your love has changed everything about me. How so? How has my love for you changed everything about you? You loved me by giving yourself for me. You lived and died for me. You paid for my sin. You secured my forgiveness. It was your love that drew me to you. It was your love that made me want to give myself to you. Your love helped me to turn away from the world to answer your call to love and follow and serve you. Your love has made me want to know you. Your love has made me want to be like you. Your love has made me want to think what you thought, say what you said and go and do what you did. Your love has changed the entire course of my life. Your love has given my life hope and meaning and purpose. Now, I want to do nothing more or less than live the life that you have called me to live. Your love has set my life on a mission. What is your mission? My mission is to love you and others with all that is within me. That is very good. 

How will you know if you really do love me? What signs will tell you that you truly do love me? I can think of three signs that will tell me that I really and truly do love you. First, I will live in your love. I will keep on drawing near to you. I will listen to your voice. I will live in an intimate relationship with you. It will be my greatest joy and highest pleasure to walk through life with you. Second, I will obey your commands. I will do whatever you ask of me. I will be at your service. I will follow and obey you not because I should or must. No, I will follow and obey you because it is the desire of my heart to love you with all my thoughts, words and actions. In fact, I will continually be looking for ways to do what is pleasing to you, because I love you. Finally, I will love others just as you have loved me. This will not be by some herculean effort on my part. No, your love has been and is now making me to be more and more like you. You love me. You love others. I love you. I will love others. This is the work your love has been doing in my heart and mind and life as I have loved and followed and served you. Yes, it is the work I have been and will continue to do in you. Keep on living in my love. Keep on following and obeying me. Keep on loving me and others just as I love you. Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, you demonstrated your love for me by living and dying for me. You made it possible for me to be forgiven of my sins. You made it possible for me to live in an intimate relationship with you. Help me now to love you and others with all that is within me. Amen

Key Question… How has the Lord made you able to love even those who are very difficult to love?

Living It Out… Allow God’s love for you to make you able to love Him and others with all that is within you.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that God’s love for you will change your heart, transform your mind and guide all your actions.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how God’s love has changed your thoughts, words and actions.

Prayer To Bless Others… May God’s love for you make you able to love Him and others with all that is within you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Day 215 – Becoming Like Christ – 1 John 4-19-21 – He First Loved Us – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 215- 1 John 4:19-21 – First Loved Us – Growing As Disciples

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21 (NIV) 

Your Love 

Your love has changed everything about me. How so? How has my love for you changed everything about you? You loved me by giving yourself for me. You lived and died for me. You paid for my sin. You secured my forgiveness. It was your love that drew me to you. It was your love that made me want to give myself to you. Your love helped me to turn away from the world to answer your call to love and follow and serve you. Your love has made me want to know you. Your love has made me want to be like you. Your love has made me want to think what you thought, say what you said and go and do what you did. Your love has changed the entire course of my life. Your love has given my life hope and meaning and purpose. Now, I want to do nothing more or less than live the life that you have called me to live. Your love has set my life on a mission. What is your mission? My mission is to love you and others with all that is within me. That is very good. 

How will you know if you really do love me? What signs will tell you that you truly do love me? I can think of three signs that will tell me that I really and truly do love you. First, I will live in your love. I will keep on drawing near to you. I will listen to your voice. I will live in an intimate relationship with you. It will be my greatest joy and highest pleasure to walk through life with you. Second, I will obey your commands. I will do whatever you ask of me. I will be at your service. I will follow and obey you not because I should or must. No, I will follow and obey you because it is the desire of my heart to love you with all my thoughts, words and actions. In fact, I will continually be looking for ways to do what is pleasing to you, because I love you. Finally, I will love others just as you have loved me. This will not be by some herculean effort on my part. No, your love has been and is now making me to be more and more like you. You love me. You love others. I love you. I will love others. This is the work your love has been doing in my heart and mind and life as I have loved and followed and served you. Yes, it is the work I have been and will continue to do in you. Keep on living in my love. Keep on following and obeying me. Keep on loving me and others just as I love you. Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, you demonstrated your love for me by living and dying for me. You made it possible for me to be forgiven of my sins. You made it possible for me to live in an intimate relationship with you. Help me now to love you and others with all that is within me. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Day 215 – Becoming Like Christ – 1 John 4-19-21 – First Loved Us – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com