Fondly Recalling

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered…’” – Exodus 17:14

Have you ever kept cards and letters in a drawer? Or saved emails and picures to a cloud because you wanted to keep them as a memory. Once you see them again, you’ll smile because they remind you of the person who sent them.

Remembering can be a good thing. It’s nice to recall the people who have meant a lot to us in our lives. How much better to revisit what God has done for them, and for us. It helps us realize that good things do exist in this world and that God is faithful.

We feel that way about the volunteer devotional writers who have dedicated their talents and time over the years to The Life.com. So, for the month of February, we are pulling 28 of their devotionals out of our archives to share with you again. Some still write for The Life.com, some have moved on. All are appreciated with fondness.

If you have been following our devotionals a while, perhaps you’ll recognize some of them. It might bring up memories for you, too. Or stir up new emotions in you. Whether you’ve read them before or are reading them for the first time, we believe God will use them for his glory.

We hope that during this short month, you’ll enjoy this traipse down memory lane with us at The Life.com. May these devotionals bless you — whether once again or for the first time.

Lord, bring to my mind the people and things that have meant the most to me, knowing all good things come from you. Then let me rejoice, and write them down as a reminder of your gracious and merciful love. Amen.

Go Deeper — if you have never done this, consider starting a prayer journal. It is a diary of your thoughts and conversations with God. If you do, and then look back and reread them in a few months or years, it will encourage you to see how God moved in your life.

 

Lord, I Love You, But …

Hebrews 6:9-20

Have you ever found yourself thinking, I love you, Jesus, but don’t ask me to do that! Or perhaps you served Him, but your attitude was wrong: If no one else will do it, then I guess I will. What causes us to be reluctant servants?

Busyness: Sometimes our schedules are so full that we don’t allow space to follow the Lord. We need to make sure that we have margin in our life.

Sense of Inadequacy: Maybe you feel unqualified, and you’re thinking, Surely there’s someone more gifted. But rest assured that God promises to equip those He calls (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

Selfishness: Sacrificial service is not convenient. It may require that we change plans, give up comforts, or make financial sacrifices.

Lack of love: This is the hardest for us to admit—that we just don’t care enough. A reluctance to serve others shows our lack of devotion to Jesus. If we love Christ with all our heart, we’ll joyfully serve Him by ministering to people in our family, workplace, community, and church.

Are you quick to follow the Lord’s leading, or are you focused on your own plans and desires? Any service offered in Jesus’ name won’t be in vain. You’ll experience the joy of giving and the assurance that He won’t forget your sacrifice.

Speak of Jesus’ Wonderful Love

Your love to me was extraordinary.

2 Samuel 1:26

Come, dear readers, let each one of us speak for himself of the wonderful love, not of Jonathan, but of Jesus. We will not relate what we have been told, but the things that we have tasted and handled–of the love of Christ. Your love to me, O Jesus, was wonderful when I was a stranger wandering far from You, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Your love restrained me from committing the sin that is unto death and withheld me from self-destruction. Your love held back the axe when Justice said, “Cut it down! Why does it clutter the ground?”

Your love drew me into the wilderness, stripped me there, and made me feel the guilt of my sin and the burden of my iniquity. Your love spoke comfortably to me when I was deeply troubled–“Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” Oh, how matchless Your love when, in a moment, You washed my sins away and made my polluted soul, which was crimson with the blood of my nativity and black with the grime of my transgressions, to be white as the driven snow and pure as the finest wool.

How You commended Your love when You whispered in my ears, “I am yours, and you are Mine.” Those were kind words when you declared, “The Father Himself loves you.” And sweet were the moments when You commended to me the love of the Spirit.

My soul shall never forget those chambers of fellowship where You unveiled Yourself to me. Moses had his cleft in the rock, where he saw the train, the back parts, of his God. We, too, have had our clefts in the rock, where we have seen the full splendors of the Godhead in the person of Christ. Did David remember the tracks of the wild goat, the land of Jordan and the Hermonites? We, too, can remember spots dear to our memory, equal to these in blessedness. Precious Lord Jesus, give us a fresh taste of Your wondrous love with which to begin the month. Amen.