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Your Reward From Heaven Will Be Very Great

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 322- Luke 6:32-36 - Your Reward From Heaven Will Be Very Great - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 322- Luke 6:32-36 – Your Reward From Heaven Will Be Very Great – Growing As Disciples

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!  And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!  And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.  “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.  You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.                        Luke 6:32-36 (NLT)                                                        

Your Example

I want to be like you. I want to follow your example. What do you have in mind? In what way do you want to be like me? How do you want to follow my example? Well, as much as possible, I want to be like you and follow your example, in every way. But I do now have something specific in mind. I want to love like you love. I want to be compassionate as you are compassionate. Tell me more. I want to love and do good to my enemies. How did I do some of my very best work in loving my enemies. Ha, you loved me, when I was living as your enemy. Was that some of your best work? Well, it was certainly the difference between life and death for me. Then you have your answer to your question. But I will say it brought me great delight in seeing you give your heart and mind and life to me. You responded to my call. You received the gift of salvation that I made available to you. For that, I am grateful. For that, I am thankful. For that, you will have my never-ending praise. I will also say that it brings me great delight in seeing you so passionately want to be like me. You will be doing very well to follow my example. Yes, I will be living the life you have called me to live. I will be the person you have called me to be. I will be living a life that is good and right and pleasing to you. I will be living out the life of salvation you have given me to live. Yes, that is exactly how you should be thinking about the way to live your live with and for me.

I do want you to be mindful of something as well. What’s that? You have already received your gift of salvation. Your place in heaven with me is being kept and guarded for you. You have a future in me that will last forever. This is a settled question. This is a done deal, bought and paid for by my death on the cross for you. Your sins have been forgiven. Your unrighteousness has been cleansed. You have been made right in my sight. Now the way that you love and do good to your enemies will be rewarded. The way that you are compassionate as I am compassionate will be repaid. No good deed, no loving act, will go unnoticed and left unrewarded when you come to live forever in heaven with me. I will be mindful of that. I will love as you loved. I will be compassionate as you are compassionate. That will be very good.

Lord, I want to be like you. I want to be compassionate as you are compassionate. I want to love others just as you have loved me. I will follow your example; I will love and do good to my enemies, for I once was also living as your enemy. Yet, you loved me. Amen

Key Question…  How are you mindful of living in a way that will one day rewarded by the Lord?

Living It Out…  Live in such a way that you will one day be rewarded for loving and doing good toward your enemies.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that you will one day be rewarded for loving and doing good to your enemies.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how you are loving and doing good to your enemies.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you love your enemies and do good to them.

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

Promises – Day 322 – Luke 6-32-36 – Your Reward From Heaven Will Be Very Great – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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

Love Only Those Who Love You

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - If - Luke 6:32-34 - Love Only Those Who Love You - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – If – Luke 6:32-34 – Love Only Those Who Love You – Growing As Disciples

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. Luke 6:32-34 (NLT)

Pay Back

I loved you knowing that you did not love me. I gave myself for you knowing that you could never ever pay me back. Yes, you demonstrated your love for me by dying on the cross as payment for my sins. You gave yourself so that I could be forgiven of all my unrighteousness. You went far out of your way and gave all that you had so that I could live in a new relationship with you. Your love for me drew me to you. You loved me first before I ever loved you. Yes, I did. 

Your love is changing me. How so? You are changing my heart and transforming my mind. At one time, I only loved those who loved me. I would only give to those who would be able to pay me back. My love and my giving were nothing like your love and your giving. You have become my role model. I want to become like you in every way. I want to think like you think. I want to feel what you feel. I want to give like you gave. I want to do what you have done. I want to do what pleases you. I want to do all that you ask of me. I want you to love like I loved. I want you to give like I gave. I am asking you to love others who may never love you. I am asking you to give to others without the hope or expectation that you will ever be paid back. Will you love like I loved? Will you give like I gave? Yes Lord, I will.

What will happen to you when you love and give like I loved and gave? I’m not sure. Take a guess. I know that I will stand out. I will seem odd to others, in a good way. Why is that? Your kind of love and giving is uncommon in the world. Yes, it is. Do you know that I want you to stand out? I want you to be noticed. I want your life to shine brightly like a star in the universe. You will shine brightly for me when you do what I ask of you. Do you want to shine brightly for me? Yes Lord, more than anything else, I want to be a bright and shining witness for you. Then you will love like I loved. Then you will give like I gave. Yes, I will. 

Lets talk about pay back. Was there no pay back for loving the way that I loved? Was there no pay back for giving the way that I gave? You were paid back in joy knowing that you did your Father’s will. You were paid back in joy knowing that you accomplished all that your Father asked you to do for Him. You were paid back in joy knowing that your life bore an abundance of fruit in restoring a multitude to a new relationship with your Father in Heaven. Yes, I was. Do you believe that you will one day be paid back in similar ways as you love and give like I loved and gave? Yes, I know that you will one day pay me back for the good I have done for you in this life. Yes, I will.

Lord, thank you for going far out of your way to demonstrate your love for me even when I was not loving you back. You gave your life for me knowing that I could never possibly pay you back. Help me to love others just like you loved and gave yourself to me. Amen

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

If – Luke 6-32-34 – Love Only Those Who Love You – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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