GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. Romans 5:7 (NIV)

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The love of God needs no because. He does not give his love because of something that you’ve done. He does not give his love because of something he will gain. He does not give his love because it’s something you have earned.

He gives his love with no because.

We come at love with conditions: you can take it or leave it.

God comes at love with no conditions: I’ll take you and I won’t leave you.

We might, in rare instances, show love by dying for someone we deem worthy. God, in all instances, showed love by dying for us, even when we were still drawing blood from his love (Romans 5:7-8).

When we were still in rebellion against God’s love, Jesus said, “I lay down my life . . . . No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17-18 NIV).

I lay it down, Jesus says, with no need for because.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15 NIV).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Luke 6:35 (NIV)

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In faith, I know this to be true:

By God’s grace, I am able to love with abandonment, fully positioned in the center of “other.”

This other-centered love is unconditional; it makes no attempt to force people to do things, or to control them (Romans 12:19). Instead, in faith, I believe God’s love is more powerful than any force in all eternity (1 Corinthians 13:13).

By God’s grace, my love is filled with patience, kindness, encouragement, humility, service, trust, truth, hope, perseverance, and joy, and by covering the wrongs of those I love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).

By God’s grace, my love is sincere, serves with zeal, and is Spirit-directed. My love is faithful in prayer, generous in invitation, and full of blessings for those who oppose me. I cry with others, and I laugh with others, and I live in harmony, as best I can while loving from the center of God’s love (Romans 12:9-21).

My love proves me to be a child of God because I am kind to the wicked and ungrateful, and I still love, without expecting anything in return (Luke 6:35).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. Ephesians 6:10 (MSG)

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In faith, I know this to be true:

God is strong, and he wants me strong.

Because God is strong, he can make me strong: “If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!” (Job 9:19 NIV).

Though my health seems weak, God will make me strong because he is strong.

Though I am exhausted, God will make me strong because he is strong.

God is strong and he wants me strong as I press on with my purpose: “Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess (Deuteronomy 11:8 NIV).

God is strong and he wants me strong to go where he wants me to go: “Be strong and very courageous. … Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7 NIV).

God is strong and he wants me strong so I can stay focused on my heavenly journey: “Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess (Deuteronomy 11:8 NIV).

God is strong and so I am strong, knowing that he is with me always: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

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In faith, I know this to be true:

God manages circumstances.

Whether I turn to the right or to the left, my ears will hear a voice behind me, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21 NIV).

He makes my paths straight as I lean on him and acknowledge him (Proverbs 3:5-6). He’s placed a hedge around me and he blesses the work of my hands (Job 1:10).

God says he is the only one capable of interpreting circumstances: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways . . . . As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV).

When I see the circumstances the way God does, he says, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12 NIV).

Praise God! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:34 NIV).

He sees the path before us, and calls us forth in faith (Genesis 22:12), showing us there are no coincidences in this universe of his design: “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NIV).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2009 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.