For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. – John 3:16 (TPT) I used to struggle with the word “love.” It’s not that I didn’t love people. It’s just that when I thought of love, I thought of mushy, gushy, romantic love. As a result, the thought of loving my neighbour seemed strange to me. What really helped me to understand this powerful word was when I realized that loving someone really means that you value them. When you value something, it’s precious to you and you look after it. Someone who values his car spends a lot of time and effort making …

Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us. – 1 John 4:19 (TPT) Do you wish you could be more loving? Most of us do, but is this accomplished just by building a few new habits? Or is it something you need to develop inside? Actually, it has to be both. Over the last two days we’ve been discussing what happens when you foster a deep, internal belief. Every day, we need to choose to believe and put effort into walking out God’s promises, and this gets easier over time. The more you build hope by spending time in God’s Word, the more you come to expect God’s promises in your life, and the more you will walk …

Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart. – Psalm 51:6 (AMPC) If you want to touch lives and experience God’s best, you need to realize that it’s not about moving frantically from goal to goal in life. It’s all about what’s going on within you. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals and going after them. In fact, you need to do this for every area of your life. But these goals shouldn’t just be about your external world. If they are, you’ll be chasing goals all your life and will feel like you’re never getting anywhere. For example, peace will be elusive if it’s just an external goal you chase by trying to control everything in your …

For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]. – Luke 17:21 (AMPC) Do you have goals you’re aiming for? Goals are great, but make sure you address your inner world as well. Let’s say you decided to reduce your debt by paying off a hundred dollars a month. That would be a great goal. But if you didn’t really believe that you could do it, you would struggle. That’s because you would also need to create an inner state of prosperity. Now, when I mention having an inner state of prosperity, I’m not talking about getting to a place where you’ve finally arrived and money just begins to fall into your lap with no effort. When you …

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!” Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Matthew 14:29–31 (MSG) There will always be more to learn in life and you’ll never be perfect. Don’t let that make you feel unqualified to introduce others to Jesus. Don’t let it stop you from doing what God has called you to do. Many people think they have to become an expert before they can reach anyone for Jesus, but it’s not true. They fall for the lie that they are one revelation away from a miraculous ministry. …