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PROGRAM D-7741
Happy New Year! I wonder if you’ve given any thought to a new word for the New Year? Last year my one word was “thankfulness” and I tried to keep that focus in everything I did and truly learn to be more thankful.
I’ve decided that my word for 2017 will be “love.” Now, I know that it is such an abused word that it almost becomes meaningless in today’s culture. But when we understand the Bible’s definition of love, it becomes quite a challenge.
So, I’ve prepared a 30-day plan to help you learn to practice love by the Bible’s definition. I’ve learned that if you’re not intentional about putting God’s principles into practice, they just remain words on the pages of your Bible but they don’t become transformational in your life. That’s why I often use specific plans, in writing, to keep me on track and help me do what I really want to do.
This 30-day plan to learn to practice love is based on 1 Corinthians 13, which gives us very explicit and practical instruction on just what it means to love. It has very little to do with our emotions but it has everything to do with our attitudes and our actions. This plan will help you focus on one thing at a time—one characteristic of real love each day and give you ideas on how to implement them in your life.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus that they would be “rooted and established in love.” In John 13:34 Jesus says to his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” I think it’s so interesting that Jesus says this is a new command; loving one another wasn’t required under the Law, but under the New Covenant, under grace, we have a new commandment, and it is to love as we have been loved by Jesus.
Why don’t you join me in making love your theme for 2017? It’s super important that we take this love thing seriously, and if you will join me in a 30-day plan to learn to practice love, I think it will be transformational for you and me.
