Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Fifty Two The End Result Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “We are not called to be holy to unlock a toy store full of blessings; we are called to holiness to share God’s goodness with others and to spread the Gospel of Christ.” What is the point of knowing love and showing love without a true and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ? When I first published Pray While You’re Prey, I sent a copy to a friend of mine. She wrote me back that she thought the book was good even for non-Christians. The conversation was one I will never forget because that was the day that I found out that a young woman who had been like a sister to me had “fallen in love” with someone who convinced her that Jesus was not who the Bible says He is. She no longer believed in the very Person that had caused us to have an almost decade-long bond. I was crushed and devastated because that was the beginning of the loss of that friendship, but not only that, I could not understand how anyone who claims to love a person could lead them away from the love of God. I did not write a book to tell people how to date and have good relationships. The book and this devotion series are not some sort of how-to manual for finding a mate. If anyone believes that, he or she has completely missed the point. These are testimonies of how God has shown me, in times of obedience and disobedience, that He is God. This is about how no love surpasses His love because He is love. This is about dealing with our human emotions in a Godly manner that results in the uplifting of the Kingdom. I hope that people who are unsaved read this book and devotion series, but not like they would read “The Rules,” or “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” or “He’s Just Not That into You,” or any other dating/relationship advice book. This book and devotion series is about handling our lives on Earth and our interactions with people of the opposite sex in a way that is pleasing to God. It is about recognizing that no matter what your relationship status happens to be, loving God should be your first priority. This time that we have right now on Earth may be filled with love of family, friends, and even, a significant other or spouse. But, the love of another human being pales in comparison to love that those who confess Christ as their Savior, the one and only Son of God will receive forever and ever. There is no other relationship that will help us to stand blameless before God on the Day of Judgment than a relationship where God can see us through the blood of Christ. That relationship is the important one. Any other relationship, as long as it is a Godly one, is fine, but we cannot forget what our life is all about. The purpose for our lives is the praise and to please God; to live holy and righteously as a testimony to those who may never read a Bible, but will read our lives. We must set an example of how to love one another and keep God as our first love. This is the ultimate courtship. What we do with the time God gives us on Earth shows Him and those who observe us just how real He is in our lives and how much we love Him. We need to pray that we make the most of our relationship with God, and, if it is His will for us to find or be found by a spouse, that we love that person the way God loves us. Because, there will come a day when the courtship will end and the Church, the Bride of Christ, will be with Him forever. And, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I want the end result of my earthly life to be the beginning of my eternal life as a servant with whom God was pleased. Prayer Thank You, God for promising to love us forever. Please forgive me for living as if the things of this world are all that matter. Lord, please help me to always love You first regardless what my relationship status happens to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated.
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