Devo from Sunday, February 15th:
Here's a 5-day Bible reading plan and devotional guide based on the themes from the transcription:
Day 1: The Greatest Love Letter Ever Sent
Reading: Luke 4:18-19; Romans 5:8; John 3:16
Devotional: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is heaven's Valentine to humanity. While we were yet sinners, God proved His love by sending His Son—not when we deserved it, but precisely when we needed it most. This message wasn't deflected by our sin but was persistent in its self-offering. Like a Valentine addressed to every name in the class, God's love reaches each of us individually. He doesn't just love people generally; He loves you particularly and personally. Today, pause and receive this truth: the Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus because He was anointed to bring you good news. You are loved unconditionally, not because of what you've done, but because of who God is.
Day 2: The Longing Within
Reading: Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1; Ecclesiastes 3:11
Devotional: God has placed eternity in your heart, creating a longing that nothing temporal can satisfy. Like a deer panting for water, your soul was designed to thirst for God. You may have tethered your desires to wealth, achievement, or relationships, only to find them unfulfilling. This isn't failure—it's design. C.S. Lewis discovered that God didn't just create the play; He wrote Himself into it as a character to meet us at our deepest longing. The question isn't whether you should have desires, but whether those desires are rightly ordered under the great desire for God. Without Him, nothing satisfies. With Him, everything finds its proper place and joy.
Day 3: Children of God—Now
Reading: 1 John 3:1-3; Romans 8:14-17
Devotional: "Beloved, now we are children of God." Not someday. Not when you get your act together. Now. God's fatherhood isn't contingent on your performance; it's based on His character. While earthly fathers fail and disappoint, your Heavenly Father always gets it right. He loves you in your present struggle, not just in your future perfection. Like a father who bears the stain of his crying child's embrace, God receives you with all your mess and brokenness. The sins of previous generations don't have the final word—redemption does. Today, you stand as God's child, fully loved, fully accepted, bearing His name. Let this truth settle deep: there is nothing you could do to make Him love you less.
Day 4: The Hope of Transformation
Reading: 1 John 3:2-3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 1:6
Devotional: One day, God will push the flush button and all the garbage will be gone. You'll be like Christ in His perfected humanity—not in His deity, but in His holiness. If you're weary of your sin, your struggles, your misunderstandings and failures, take heart: transformation is coming. But here's the beautiful tension—even now, as imperfect children, we are called to purify ourselves. Not to earn God's love, but as a response to it. Like a child who comes home to help his father not to earn love but because he knows he's loved, we pursue holiness from acceptance, not for acceptance. The hope of who you will be should inspire who you're becoming today.
Day 5: Loving God in Return
Reading: Mark 12:28-31; 1 John 4:19; John 21:15-17
Devotional: Jesus meets us wherever we are in our capacity to love. When Peter could only say "I like you a lot," Jesus didn't reject him—He commissioned him. The prayer of the anguished heart that says, "Lord, I want to want to love you" is heard and honored. Ask yourself daily: If Jesus came back today, would I be disappointed? Can I say thank you in my present circumstances? Am I out of sorts with anybody? Do I love Him? These diagnostic questions keep your heart from drifting into spiritual dementia, those moments when we forget the great love story we're part of. The greatest commandment isn't a burden—it's an invitation to respond to love with love, to reflect back the light we've received from the Son.
Day 1: The Greatest Love Letter Ever Sent
Reading: Luke 4:18-19; Romans 5:8; John 3:16
Devotional: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is heaven's Valentine to humanity. While we were yet sinners, God proved His love by sending His Son—not when we deserved it, but precisely when we needed it most. This message wasn't deflected by our sin but was persistent in its self-offering. Like a Valentine addressed to every name in the class, God's love reaches each of us individually. He doesn't just love people generally; He loves you particularly and personally. Today, pause and receive this truth: the Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus because He was anointed to bring you good news. You are loved unconditionally, not because of what you've done, but because of who God is.
Day 2: The Longing Within
Reading: Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1; Ecclesiastes 3:11
Devotional: God has placed eternity in your heart, creating a longing that nothing temporal can satisfy. Like a deer panting for water, your soul was designed to thirst for God. You may have tethered your desires to wealth, achievement, or relationships, only to find them unfulfilling. This isn't failure—it's design. C.S. Lewis discovered that God didn't just create the play; He wrote Himself into it as a character to meet us at our deepest longing. The question isn't whether you should have desires, but whether those desires are rightly ordered under the great desire for God. Without Him, nothing satisfies. With Him, everything finds its proper place and joy.
Day 3: Children of God—Now
Reading: 1 John 3:1-3; Romans 8:14-17
Devotional: "Beloved, now we are children of God." Not someday. Not when you get your act together. Now. God's fatherhood isn't contingent on your performance; it's based on His character. While earthly fathers fail and disappoint, your Heavenly Father always gets it right. He loves you in your present struggle, not just in your future perfection. Like a father who bears the stain of his crying child's embrace, God receives you with all your mess and brokenness. The sins of previous generations don't have the final word—redemption does. Today, you stand as God's child, fully loved, fully accepted, bearing His name. Let this truth settle deep: there is nothing you could do to make Him love you less.
Day 4: The Hope of Transformation
Reading: 1 John 3:2-3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 1:6
Devotional: One day, God will push the flush button and all the garbage will be gone. You'll be like Christ in His perfected humanity—not in His deity, but in His holiness. If you're weary of your sin, your struggles, your misunderstandings and failures, take heart: transformation is coming. But here's the beautiful tension—even now, as imperfect children, we are called to purify ourselves. Not to earn God's love, but as a response to it. Like a child who comes home to help his father not to earn love but because he knows he's loved, we pursue holiness from acceptance, not for acceptance. The hope of who you will be should inspire who you're becoming today.
Day 5: Loving God in Return
Reading: Mark 12:28-31; 1 John 4:19; John 21:15-17
Devotional: Jesus meets us wherever we are in our capacity to love. When Peter could only say "I like you a lot," Jesus didn't reject him—He commissioned him. The prayer of the anguished heart that says, "Lord, I want to want to love you" is heard and honored. Ask yourself daily: If Jesus came back today, would I be disappointed? Can I say thank you in my present circumstances? Am I out of sorts with anybody? Do I love Him? These diagnostic questions keep your heart from drifting into spiritual dementia, those moments when we forget the great love story we're part of. The greatest commandment isn't a burden—it's an invitation to respond to love with love, to reflect back the light we've received from the Son.