Tag Archives: the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man

Do Not Love The World Or Anything In The World

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The Virtuous Life - Day 222 - 1 John 2:15-17- Do Not Love The World Or Anything In The World - Growing As Disciples

The Virtuous Life – Day 222 – 1 John 2:15-17- Do Not Love The World Or Anything In The World – Growing As Disciples

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

I Love You

That is what I most want to say to you. What do you most want to say to me? I love you. How much do you love me? I love you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. I love you with all that is within me. Having said that, I still have a powerful and passionate and persistent desire to ask you to fan the flames of my love for you. I want my love for you to completely overpower the love I once had for the things of this world. I want my love for you to guard and guide the entire course of my life. I want all my thoughts and words and actions to be rooted in my love for you. I want the priorities of my life to be formed by my love for you. I want my love for you to make me able to know you intimately. I want my love for you to help me to hear your voice as I walk through life with you. In other words, I don’t want to love you a little bit. In other words, I don’t to know you somewhat. In other words, I don’t want to half-heartedly live my life with and for you. I want to be fully devoted to you today, tomorrow, and forever. My life is at your disposal. I am at your service. I will follow you to where you lead me. I will do whatever you ask of me. This is how much I love you. This is how much more I want to love you. You have a very good prayer that you have been and will continue to pray, of that, I am sure. 

Let me ask you a question. I’m listening. Where did this love for me, that is now in you come from? You loved me. I now love you. Your love for me rescued me from a life without you. Your love for me drew me to yourself. Your love for me, placed within me, a love for you. My love for you came from you as a gift. That is correct. That is right. That is true. Do you have any doubts about my hearing and answering this prayer of yours? Will I fan the flames of your love for me? Will you come to know and love me more and more as you continue to live your life with and for me? Will your love for me continue to guard and guide the entire course of your life? Will Your love for me make you able to accomplish my purposes and plans for your life? Yes, I believe that you will fan the flames of my love for you. Yes, I believe that you will help me to come to know and love you more and more as I live my life with and for you. Yes, I believe that my love for you will make me able to accomplish the purposes and plans you have for my life. That is very good. Keep moving forward with me. Keep on loving and following and serving me. Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, I have had misplaced priorities. I have pursued all that the world had to offer. I have often misspent my life on what will not last. Forgive me. Help my love for you to overpower any old desire to love things of this world. I am fully devoted to loving you. Amen

Key Question…  How is your love for God helping you to reprioritize how you spend your life?

Living It Out…  Let your love for God overpower your old desire to love the things of this world.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that your love for God will overpower your old desires to love the things of this world.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how your love for God is overpowering your desires for worldly things.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May your love for God replace the love you once had for the world.

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

The Virtuous Life – Day 222 – 1 John 2-15-17 – Do Not Love The World Or Anything In The World – 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                                                                                    http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Does The Will Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Life - 1 John 2:15-17 - Does The Will Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Life – 1 John 2:15-17 – Does The Will Of God – Growing As Disciples

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

Love Of The Father

Loving the world, that is something I don’t want to do. This world is passing away. My days in this life are short. There is nothing from this life that will last forever. There is nothing from this life that I can take with me. Everything of value that I now see will one day amount to nothing. A lot of what I have pursued will have been like a mirage on the road ahead. I will have chased after nothing. I don’t desire that kind of life anymore. I want my life to have counted for something. I want my life to have mattered. I want to look back from heaven knowing that my life on this earth was well spent. So, I don’t love this world. I don’t crave all that this world has to offer.  I don’t lust after this world’s delicacies.  I take no pride in what I have or in what I have done.

What do you really want most of all? Most of all I want to know and love you. Loving you or loving the world may seem like a hard choice to some. It isn’t to me. Why is that? I have tasted of your goodness. I have felt your kindness. I have experienced your love. I have received your forgiveness and cleansing. I know that I am your child. I have been accepted into your family. You are my Father and my God. Yes, I am. There is no place I would rather be than in your presence. There is nothing I would rather hear than your voice. There is nothing I would rather see than your glory. There is nothing I would rather do than to love, follow and serve you. I have no greater joy than to know that I have been used by you. I am at your disposal. I want to bear an abundance of fruit for your kingdom and glory. One day I want to hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Only you can make that possible. Only you can make me faithful. Yes, I can.

It is my prayer that I will be able to receive all that you want to give me. It is my prayer that I will do all that you have asked of me. Do you believe that I will hear and answer your prayers? Yes, I do believe. Why do you believe?  It is unlike me not to crave all that the world has to offer. It is unlike me not to lust after what I have seen with my eyes. It is unlike me not to boast about what I have or what I have done. You have changed my heart and mind and desires. Yes, I have. You have made me hungry and thirsty for you. Your love for me has made me to want to love you. I want to live in your love. Your love has filled my heart and my mind and my soul. Yes, it has. I will live my life with and for you. Yes, you will.

Lord, I love you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. It is my desire to both know and do your will. Guard my heart and mind from loving the world or anything in it. Help me to do your will in all that I think, say and do. Amen

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

Life – 1 John 2-15-17 – Does The Will Of God – 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