Devotional Life Love and Loyalty

Devotional Life

Love and Loyalty

A devotional life is a life of devotion to the things we love

Our love falls in two categories

A love for the things of the world

OR

A love for the things of God

A worldly devotion focuses on eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die

A Godly devotion focuses on the Giver of life eternal

A devotional life is a life of Love and Loyalty

It is enthusiasm for a person or things

A devotional life will shape your activities and define your cause    

So if we gain the whole world and lose our soul what do we have

But if we devote ourselves to the God who created the heavens and the earth

We gain life in the earth and in heaven

Love is a choice

Loyalty is a choice

Therefore our devotion is a choice

So what will you choose?

Devotion to the things of this world or devotion to God and all He has to offer?

Love and Loyalty

Ever think about the word “Devotion”?

Having a devotion for

someone or thing is love, loyalty.

It is enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.

Spiritually we think of religious worship,

prayers or religious observances.

Commonly we think of the word

“Devotional” as a short thought or message.

Someone in a small group Sandy

and I are a part of said I should write a

book on how to have a devotional life.

She said, “Bill you are so full of enthusiasm

and energy when you talk about God’s Word”.

“You are so interesting to listen to.”

It was nice to get those complements,

but I felt the burden she and so many others have.

We have a love for God but find it a

struggle to read their Bible or keep a

regular time of a devotional reading.

I had been thinking about her words

for about a month and the things I shared

with her and the group that day.

In the following devotionals I will share my

successes and failures in having a devotional life.

I will share my story and how I came to

be a daily devotional writer since 2008.

But for now maybe the most important

thing is the definition of “Devotion”.

You will not be able to have a

devotional life without devotion.

Your devotion will be defined by what you

love, this can be a person or something.

You will be loyal or show enthusiasm

for that person, activity or cause.

What is it you love to talk about?

Is it your family, job or hobby?

Your life and mine should be full of people

and things we love to share with others.

Life is to be full and abundant according

to Jesus’ purpose for coming to the earth.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness there of.

So the first thing we need to realize is…

 The connection of earthly joys

to the Creator of those things.

There are two mind sets

according to the Word of God.

The Worldly…

Furthermore, since they did not think it

worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God,

he gave them over to a depraved mind,

to do what ought not to be done.

Romans 1:28

God has given us a freedom to enjoy the earth

 He created without recognizing God.

This pattern of worldly thinking verses

Godly thinking has been increasing.

We are all affected by worldly thinking

and need our minds to be renewed…

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is

— his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Everything that matters to you

happens between your ears.

Yes, that brain with the ability to think and feel.

You and I start our journey of life as imitators…

We see and hear and it becomes a part of us.

Right or wrong we accept it.

As we get older we begin to question

what we have accepted and believe.

So we find ourselves with either the mind

of the world or the mind of Christ .

Think about it…

A devotional life is loyal and full of love.

The more you love,

the more loyal you will become.

You cannot love without appreciation and value.

If you and I are to have a devotional

life for God, we have to see His value.

The world has a lot to offer.

But we have to ask the question…

What good is it for a man to gain

the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Mark 8:35

You and I will be devoted to one or the other…

Either to the world or to God.

So if we gain the whole world

and lose our soul what do we have.

But if we devote ourselves to the God,

 who created the heavens and the earth…

We gain life in the earth and in heaven.

Love is a choice.

Loyalty is a choice.

Therefore our devotion is a choice.

So what will you choose?

Devotion to the things of this world

Or

 Devotion to God and all He has to offer?

Scripture Reading

1 John 2:15-17 NIV

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 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. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Matthew 4:8 NIV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

Romans 12:2 NIV

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

James 1:27-2:1 NIV

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 4:4 NIV

4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.